KittyKatKalled
by javu
Summary: A fanfiction based off the Warrior Cat series by Erin Hunter. This story started out as a bit of a joke about a gay cat named Mintyheart, and then it transformed into a deep and developed story that focuses on many of the characters in ForestClan. So if you find the first chapter a bit weird, stick with it; it gets so much better.
1. Chapter 1

Mintyheart padded back to camp to find that the sun was beaming down on the forest floor, gently warming the pelts of the cats that lived in the clearing. Winterstorm's hunting patrol just got back. They had returned early on the account of a thorn in Spiceheart's pad. Winterstorm carried a thrush and a squirrel. He dropped them off at the fresh-kill pile, which wasn't much of a pile. Winterstorm sighed. He would have to go hunting later; the clan needed it. He picked his squirrel and padded off to the nursery.

Sounds of mewls and shrieks of surprise filled the bramble thicket. He pushed his way in, feeling the brambles and thorns prick at his matted, white pelt. Oh well, I'll groom it later.

"Good day, Skypool. I brought you a squirrel. I thought you might want something to fill you and your kit's bellies. It's still warm." He blinked warmly at her and the kits that were pouncing on Palekit.

Echokit looked up at the sight of the white warrior. With a nod of her head the three she-kits left Palekit and spread out around the nursery. When Shimmerkit gave a nod, Foxit walked over to where the warrior was, "Hello Winterstorm. Thank you for the fresh kill," Fox kit mewed.

"Yes, thank you, Winterstorm. Is prey running well today?" Skypool purred. As Skypool spoke Echokit and Shimmerkit lined up their attack...raising their tails in the air they pounced on the white tom, digging their thorn-like claws into his pelt.

Winterstorm gave a small grunt as his eyes widened in surprise. Their unsheathed claws stung, but they were still young and small compared to the large warrior. He gave a small, patient hiss. "It was well, considering the time of year. Yet, it hasn't snowed so the prey is still out and about." He turned around and grabbed Echokit by the scruff and pried her from his pelt. As for Shimmerkit he turned and faced her squarely, and murmured, "I expect better from one who is soon to be an apprentice." He frowned slightly at her before turning back to Skypool.

Palekit gingerly unfolded his paws that were covering his eyes to gaze astonishingly at the she-cats, and shuddered in fear. Echokit hissed as Winterstorm removed her from his pelt. As she was set down she looked over she shoulder at the tom, with a glimmer of mischief in her green eyes. Shimmerkit looked down, ashamed to be yelled at by a warrior. Skypool gave Winterstorm a quick glance about the words he exchanged with her kit but didn't comment deciding that Shimmerkit ought to get used to it. Starclan help her mentor. Skypool thought. Foxkit, seeing that Palekit was starting to move leaped at him. Seeing a chance to play Echokit darted across the nursery floor to join in. "Leave Palekit alone girls" Skypool called. "In fact, Palekit, come here. You need your pelt groomed before Blazingstar returns. Shimmerpaw, you too. Do you want the clan to see you apprenticed looking like that?"

"I'll leave you be then, Skypool. Just call me if you need anything."

"Oh, don't worry Winterstorm! I can take good care of the kits, don't you worry. Isn't that right, kitties?!" Maplefur purred warmly at the little cats.

Echokit, Foxkit and Shimmerkit looked at each other with worried glances. They prayed to Starclan that Skypool would never leave them alone with the she-cat. "Thank you Winterstorm"

Skypool purred as she twitched her tail and beckoned Shimmerkit and Pale kit to her. Echokit and Foxkit bounded after them wishing they were the ones to be made apprentices. As Skypool started grooming them she went over what each of them should do in the ceremony and scolding Echokit and Foxkit for making paw prints on Palekit's pelt after he had but been washed.

Winterstorm exited the nursery without further ado.

Maplefur crawled closer to Echokit and Foxkit. "Maybe the precious she-kits want a grooming too so they can look all pretty!" she purred with pleasure. She made a move to grab one by the scruff. Foxkit let out a screech of terror and spun around as quick as she could and pelted towards her mother. Echokit, on the other paw, arched her back in a challenging hiss and pinned her ears back. She stretched out her paw as slashed it towards the she-cat. "Get your crazy paws away for me."

"Darlings…" Maplefur broke off. She heard Mintyheart calling for her. Her heart lifted. "Bye now darlings!" and she padded out of the nursery.

Spiceheart limped painfully to the medicine cat's den. As she was out on her hunting patrol, whilst stalking a mouse, she had become aware quite suddenly of the shooting pain in her pad caused by a deeply embedded thorn.

"Peppernose!" she called anxiously, "I – I got a thorn in my pad and it's huge!"

"Oh stop; you're wailing like a kit, Spiceheart!" Sunstone meowed. "We are the only cats on the hunting patrol and now we have to waste time here." Looking around she saw Peppernose padding towards them. "I mean honestly. How to you expect Blazingstar to give me another apprentice if the one I trained still behaves like a kit? Peppernose tell her she's fine," Sunstone mewed.

"I do not behave like a kit!" mewed Spiceheart indignantly. She started fluffing up her fur until she looked much larger than she was. It didn't matter that Sunstone was her previous mentor, Spiceheart was not a kit. "I can't help that I stepped on that thorn!"

Peppernose padded over to the mewling she-cats and sat down, silently watching their interaction.

"Hello Peppernose." Sunstone mewed. "Can you just take the thorn out so we can go out hunting again? Give her some catmint or whatever." Sitting down, she lightly flicked Spiceheart over the head with her tail. "I'm sure the mice are missing us already."

Peppernose narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me what to do!" he hissed angrily, lashing his tail. "And if you're so sure the mice are missing you, why don't you go on ahead while I tend to Spiceheart? Or are you scared about being in the forest by yourself?"

Narrowing her eyes she let a quiet hiss slide out. Not having anything to say to the fickled tom she padded out of his den with her head held high and out in the forest. She would take her angeron the helpless prey in the forest.

"Good riddance," Peppernose growled.

"Don't mind her!" Spiceheart exclaimed. "She's just frustrated that we didn't get much prey."

Peppernose let out a "hump" before sniffing the she-cat's paw. "Can I see it?" Spiceheart lifted her paw up to reveal a large thorn embedded in her flesh with some blood trickling into her fur. Peppernose swiftly reached over and pulled it out with his teeth. Spiceheart let out a yelp of pain. "Quiet. It doesn't hurt that much."

"Oh right. Says that cat who didn't just have a thorn yanked out of their paw!" she mewed cheekily.

Peppernose ignored her complaining. "Well? What are you waiting for? Give it a good lick." Spiceheart did as she was told as Peppernose made a poultice of marigold leaves and dock leaves. "Here. Spread this on."

"Why? Aren't you the medicine cat?" All she received was a glare. "Whatever." And she spread it on her paw and then left the den. "Thanks!" she meowed cheerfully as she padded away.

Blazingstar woke in his den. Looking up at the stone walls he still couldn't believe this was his den. No more than 3 moons ago he slept in the warriors den. As he gave himself a quick grooming he let his mind wander to that last battle, when Patchstar lost his last life. Earlier in that same battle Patchstar's deputy had died and Patchstar had unofficially made Bluefrost his deputy. But Peppernose received a sign form Starclan, so here he was. Giving his pelt a good shake he padded out to high rock. Looking down on the camp he couldn't help but purr as the clan began to awake. A movement caught his eye, bounding down from high rock effortlessly he padded up to Bluefrost and Icecloud. Tipping head to them he mewed, "Mind if I join you twofor a patrol?"

Bluefrost flicked his ears in greeting but narrowed his dark eyes suspiciously. This young leader had yet to earn his respect. Not that Bluefrost would be disloyal, just . . . hesitant. He then dipped his head and meowed, "of course. The hunting patrol got back early. I saw Spiceheart limping towards the medicine cat's den. Probably a thorn in the pad or a torn claw. I'm guessing the former, going on from how eager she is." He finished up the short report. "Shall we leave?"

Nodding his head Blazingstar agreed and with a flick of his trail motioned to Bluefrost to take the lead. As they padded out of the camp Blazingstar couldn't help feeling over joyed to be out of camp. Bounding to catch up to Bluefrost he fell into paw step behind him, "Which border are we patrolling Bluefrost?" Blazingstar questioned. He flicked his ear to the side as he heard a thrush not too far off, but ignored it.

"I thought we'd check out the Meadowclan border and the river. The river might be low at this time of year. We haven't had much rain as it is colder, but we haven't had any snow either to make the river rise. That is an increase in the chance Meadowclan might invade because they might be able to wade across the river. Also, if the river is shallower, Meadowclan cats might attempt fishing because if the water is lower, they have a smaller chance of being tipped over by the current and drowning."

"Sounds like a well thought out plan." Blazingstar mewed. Just like Bluefrost. They were nearing the river soon and Blazingstar let the sound of the slowly flowing river carry his thoughts away. Once he returned to camp he would be preforming his first apprentice naming ceremony. He laughed to himself as he thought that he may be more anxious then the kits in the nursery.

"Have you chosen their mentors?" Icecloud asked from behind him as if he could read his thoughts.

"I have, but I still have to speak with one of them still." Blazingstar replied.

"I'm sure you've chosen well" the gray tom replied coolly.

The patrol was finished smoothly. They did see a lone MeadowClan cat wandering among the tall grasses, but besides that nothing else interesting happened. They then padded back to camp to hold the apprentice naming ceremony.

Mintyheart padded into camp. He needed to get Featherstep out of his head. He needed to be normal. He knew what he had to do. Looking around the camp he didn't see Maplefur. Where is she? He thought desperately. Opening his mouth to get a better sense of where her sent was, he found her. Duh. Of course she's in the Nursery. Padding over he called out her name, shocked at how shaky his mew sounded.

Maplefur emerged from the nursery. "Mintyheart! Have you come to reason?" She twirled her tail happily.

His head still whirring, he looked at her, "Ummm...yes? Maybe we should try to work something out. Start slow or something. We may be able to make his work." Mintyheart mewed. _This is my only chance to be normal. I can learn to love her...I think..._

She padded closer to him, invading his comfort zone, and breathed softly in his face. "Meet me at the Great Pine at moon high." She blinked what she thought was sensually.

_So much for taking it slow..._ A tingle ran down Mintyheart's spine, not because of the she-cat strolling away touching his flank with her tail, but at the thought of Featherstep and the look in his eyes as he turned a pelted away. Looking over he saw Blazingstar, Icecloud, and Bluefrost returning from camp.

As Blazingstar was getting close to camp he saw Sunstone padding out of camp. "Sunstone" He called. "We are having a clan meeting soon. I'd like it if you were there."

Sunstone dipped her head to her leader. "Yes Blazingstar. Is there anything you need to talk to me about?" She cocked her head as she expected him you ask her to mentor.

Blazingstar mewed, "Nothing I can think of." He knew exactly what she wanted but she wasn't one of his choices. As he entered camp he saw Spiceheart coming out of Peppernose's den. "Don't go too far" he purred to the young warrior. "Does your pad feel better?"

"Yes, it does. It still stings a bit, but not as much as Peppernose's tongue! Thanks!" Spiceheart mewed, happy that the leader of her clan was concerned about her.

"Good." Blazingheart purred. Seeing Mintyheart across the camp he nodded to Spiceheart and padded over to the silver and black tom. "Greetings Mintyheart." Blazingstar mewed.

Looking up, still raddled in his thoughts, his eyes were wide and pelt slightly puffed up. Seeing his leader, and old friend, lightened his spirit. "Greetings Blazingstar."

"Ha, what happened to you, Mintyheart. You look like you've seen a Darkforest warrior." Blazingstar snickered.

"Oh it's nothing. What did you want? Do you want to go hunting?"

"No. I'm about to make two new Forestclan apprentices. Palekit and Shimmerkit. And I was wondering if you'd mentor one of them. Palekit." Blazingstar looked happily at his friend.

"I'd...I'd be honored. But do you think I'm ready? I mean I'm young to be a mentor..." Mintyheart stammered.

"You, to young? Really, Mintyheart. I'm leader and like what, 25 moons old? Mintyheart, look at me. You will me be a great mentor. Palekit is lucky to have you as a mentor."

Mintyheart looked up, Blazingstar always had a way of making everything okay again. And an apprentice would help distract him from the Meadowclan warrior. "Good luck Blazingstar. Don't mess it up." Mintyheart purred. Twitching his tail, Blazingstar padded off to the Highrock.

Blazingstar looked down at his clanmates. Taking a deep breath he called out, "Let all old enough to catch their own prey gather for a clan meeting."

Mintyheart was already there. All he had to do was look up at his friend and leader. Maplefur padded beside him, and wrapped her tail gently around him. Winterstorm sat a few tail lengths away, a hidden proud and dignified look on his face. Spiceheart sat eagerly towards the front, not putting much wait on her recently injured paw. Peppernose sulked out of his den, glaring up at the sunlight. He sat not in the crowd, but near the entrance of his den. Icecloud and Bluefrost sat next to each other, representing the strength of the clan. The two elders, Heavystep and Elderleaf, crankily arose from their soft and warm dens to appear. Skypool padded out of the nursery, Shimmerkit, Echokit, and Foxkit in trail while Palekit tried to keep up.

"Those will be our kits one day," Maplefur breathed huskily in Mintyheart's ear.

Mintyheart swallowed as Maplefur spoke and lightly touched his flank. Looking up to Blazingstar he focused on his leader.

Shimmerkit couldn't stand still as she padded up to the Highrock. She looked over at her brother, who didn't look as happy as she was. Silly fur-ball She thought. Her heart started beating wildly as she watched Blazingstar leap nimbly from Highrock. He padded over to Palekit. Looking at the tiny tom he couldn't help but thinking that Mintyheart had a task ahead of him. Looking at Palekit, he felt as if the ranks of Starclan were watching, to see if they made a right choice with him as leader. "Palekit, from this day on until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Palepaw. Your mentor will be Mintyheart, I trust that you will pass down your wisdom, loyalty, and heart to this young cat."

Mintyheart nodded and padded towards the ginger tom. Palepaw looked as if he were shaking out of his pelt. His tail was rattling like a rattlesnake's tail. He tried to approach his new mentor, but tripped at the attempt. Skypool let out a little hiss of worry. He quickly hopped back on his paws and clumsily rammed his nose into Mintyheart's. Mintyheart didn't flinch, trying to make it look as if they hadn't collided. "You're doing just fine, Palekit. Follow me." Turning he guided his new apprentice to the side of the Highrock as the clan called him by his new name.

Blazingstar looked as the two toms, Mintyheart will be a perfect mentor for Palepaw. He turned his gaze to Shimmerkit who was squirming out of her pelt. She looked up into her leaders eyes. "Shimmerkit, from this day forward you will be known as Shimmerpaw, your mentor will be Winterstorm. I hope he will pass down his level headedness, loyalty and courage."

Shimmerpaw looked over to the white warrior across from her. Winterstorm gave Shimmerpaw a knowing look before padding up to touch noses with her lightly. She's going to be a handful! He thought to himself. But he also had a feeling of satisfaction of being her mentor. Shimmerpaw followed Winterstorm to the edge of the clearing as the clan called out her new name. The clan began to split off into smaller groups and congratulate the new apprentices.

Shimmerpaw looked over and saw Echokit dash over. "You look like a warrior already!" She purred. The she cats touched noses and Echokit padded back to where Skypool was herding Foxkit back to the nursery.

Shimmerpaw looked over to her mentor with excitement dancing in her eyes, "What are we going to do now? Can you train me how to fight Shadeclan warriors or maybe how to sneak up on a mouse. Or the best way to ambush a thrush on a tree branch?"

Winterstorm looked down at his new apprentice, pleased by her eagerness. "I think we will take a tour of the territory, that way you know where to attack Shadeclan when I show you some moves, or where to hunt a mouse when I teach you to hunt." He turned toward Mintyheart. "Would you care to join us?" his gazed flickered to Palepaw, who was the exact opposite of Shimmerpaw, looking as if he'd rather never set foot outside of camp.

"We'd love to, thanks Winterstorm." Mintyheart mewed. "Come on Palepaw." Mintyheart looked over at his new apprentice, who had eyes the size of full moons. Purring to himself he sat up and started walking towards the tunnel with Winterstorm. Shimmerpaw bounded after the warriors but not after batting Palepaw over the ears.

Too late to react, Palepaw got his ears batted by Shimmerpaw. He stifled a whimper as he padded after his mentor and sister, fur fluffed up.


	2. Chapter 2

Padding on to Highrock and sat with his paws neatly under him and wrapped his tails around them and gazed down at his clan. Bluefrost was arranging patrols; Peppernose was shifting some herbs around in his den; Shimmerpaw was sitting on her brother, Palepaw's shoulders and batting his ears with shift blows of her sheathed paws. Poor little tom Blazingstar thought. I'll have to tell Mintyheart to teach his a few defense moves as soon as possible. Shimmerpaw quickly left the little tom when she saw Echokit emerge form the nursery and she started to show her the newest battle moves Winterstorm had showed her. Purring to himself he looked over towards the side of the camp where his eyes fell on Mintyheart, who was laying with all of his paws tucked under him staring, unblinkingly at a pebble.

Jumping down from the Highrock Blazingheart approached his friend. "You okay Mintyheart?"

"Yea, I'm fine." Mintyheart mewed back without looking from the pebble.

Blazingstar batted the pebble away, "Don't even try to lie to me."

Mintyheart looked up, not into his leader's eyes but into his closest friend's. "I've been disloyal Blazingstar. Not to my clan but to my heart. I've done something I regret and will have to the rest of my life with."

Blazingstar looked on his friends with compassion and understanding. "Mintyheart, we've all made mistakes, but that's part of life."

"But this is the worst thing ever. I thought I was doing it for the right reasons but I wasn't. I was hasty and was trying to cover up and hide my real feelings think that they would go away, as if I could change my emotions by some simple act."

Blazingstar could feel the anguish streaming off Mintyheart. He stood and sat beside Mintyheart, resting his tail on his shoulder. "Mintyheart, I'm not sure what you've done but there nothing that can't be made right. So, you've made a mistake, every cat has. The real question is what are you going to do now? Will this mistake rule your life or will you make the best of it. Besides, Starclan knows that what we see as a mistake and turn it into a blessing."

"They could be a blessing. No, they are a blessing" Mintyheart whispered. Looking up at Blazingstar, "Thank you. No cat can ever claim that you are too young to be our leader. Icecloud has done well and Starclan has chosen wisely."

"Oh don't make us sound like Icecloud and Bluefrost just yet!" Blazingstar called out as he leaped at Mintyheart. Mintyheart just missed getting pinned down but still ended up rolling away in the dust. Springing up he lept over Blazingstar and was ready when he turned towards him and caught him off balance, sending both toms rolling. Springing apart the two toms jumped and collided midair in a mass of fur. Rearing up they battled each other's ears as if they were once again apprentices. Laying side by side the two toms panted and licked their paws contently.

"Do you think Bluefrost would ever do that?" Mintyheart mewed.

"What, have fun?" Right after mice fly." Blazingstar purred. "Can you image the whispers of me being a kit-leader if they saw that."

The two friends shared tongues and meowed of clan activities and the fact that there should be more fun things to do, maybe continue warrior training. After a while on laying in the sunMintyheart stood. "Excuse me Blazingstar but there is something I must do, and I'll hunt on the way."

Blazingheart nodded and watched Mintyheart bound off. I'm glad to see that bounce is back in him.

Soon after Mintyheart padded out of the camp, Maplefur bounded in, skipping happily. "Blazingstar! Blazingstar! Guess what guess what!? You'll never believe it! I'm going to have kits!"

Blazingstar closed his eyes and let the rays of sun penetrate deep into his pelt. Suddenly his peace was disturbed by paws crashing through the fallen leaves. Opening one eye he saw Maplefur scrambling towards him with a wild look on her face. Sitting up Blazingstar smiled as the she-cat skidded to a halt. As she revealed the news of her kit his whiskers twitched, silently trying to think which tom would be crazy enough to take this she-cat as their mate. Looking up at Maplefur he mewed to her, "Congratulations Maplefur. How far along are you?"

The sun shone brightly as the she-cat proudly made her announcement. She curled her tail happily and gave a little hop. "I believe, hem, that I am ten - no eleven - hours along. I am expecting five she-cats: Preciouskit, Lovekit, Sweetkit, Rosekit, and Softkit. I shall expect you to make the announcement to the Clan, and at the Gathering, which I will, unfortunately, not be attending, because I will be resting my delicate womb in the nursery."

Blazingstar had to turn his head away from Maplefur in order to hide his purrs of laughter. Looking back at her he mewed, "11 hours huh? Peppernose must be given skills way beyond Starclan. He's getting very good, and 5 she-cats. Wow. Our clan will sure be growing." Although part of him questioned if she was even going to be a queen and although he shunned the thought as soon as it entered his mind he wasn't sure if the clan could afford anymore cats from Patchstar's line. Yet, if these kits were to be born it would never be fair to judge them of the cats they came from. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he looked around the camp and the few cats that made up the clan, yes he thought, any new kits would be welcomed. Looking back at the she-cats eyes dancing in joy of the chance of kits he purred, "Well you better see Peppernose about this. To make sure everything is well. And you are more than welcome to join us at the Gathering tonight. I think queens head to the nursery around 6 weeks." Looking across the camp he couldn't help but want to ask her who the tom was, although he knew that a queen had her right not to tell any cat the father of her kits.

"That's absolutely ridiculous! Do you want to damage my future kits? The future of ForestClan? Preciousnose, Lovesong, Sweetbriar, Rosestep, and Softeyes will be the future of this Clan. The Clan will rely on them to build ForestClan up. They are essential for survival. And you want to risk that by forcing me to attend the Gathering? Just wait until Mintyheart hears about this!"

"While I'm sure that your kits will be as important as any cat in the clan I can assure you that your unborn kits will be fine if...wait, why would Mintyheart be concerned about..." Looking up at the she-cat's fierce looking eyes he put two and two together. The air caught in his throat and he coughed, trying to hide the shock. So that was what he was talking about. Oh Mintyheart, what have you done! As if summoned by his friend, Mintyheart entered the camp with 3 mice and a thrush hanging from his mouth, concentrating hard to make sure he didn't drop any of the fresh kill in the dust.

"What if Shadeclan makes an attack at the Gathering?! And they rip open my belly! And my kits are slaughtered! Could you bare that on your conscious?!" she spat in his face. Without waiting for a reply, she spun around, and padded off to the nursery.

Blazingstar watched the fluffed up she-cat stomped away from him towards the nursery. Poor Skypool. He thought. At least she should be out of the nursery soon. Standing up he trotted towards the camp's entrance and twitched his tail as he passed Mintyheart, who fell into step a cat's length behind him. After getting a bit out of camp Blazingstar halted and looked at his friend unblinking.

"The prey is running great today, practically leaping right into my paws," Mintyheart mew trying to start conversation.

"Well good." Blazingstar retorted as he sat down at the edge of a sun beam. "Will need all the prey we can get with 5 she-kits on the way." Smirking he looked up at his friend who's eyes had grown as big the moon at gatherings.

"You know..." Mintyheart stammered.

Nodding Blazingstar batted Mintyheart over the ears. "Yea, I know. But really Mintyheart, Maplefur! You just had to choose her! I mean no disrespect to her because you love her but you couldn't just let the crazy die out with her?"

"I don't love her."

"I know." Another has his heart, but whom? Blazingstar thought. "But you are a smart cat. You'll make the right choice. Besides who knows, she may not even have kits in her. Although it's been 12 hours now and she is certain that she will have 5 she-kits."

"Is that what she said?" Mintyheart purred.

"Oh yes. That and I'll slaughter your kits by sending her to the gathering tonight." Purring the two toms go up and headed into the woods.

Tensions were high in the Forestclan camp as the sun set and the warriors of Starclan began to emerge in the sky. Echokit and Foxkit sat still along Skypool and watched the warriors though the entrance of the nursery. Sunstone paced near the fresh kill pile muttering to herself while Icecloud sat unblinking at the base of High Rock with Bluefrost at his side. Peppernose was busy in his den with herbs and getting annoyed with Maplefur who has already whining about stomach pains. Shimmerpaw sat beside her mentor Winterstorm, her brother Palepaw sat at her side, eyes wide, because he couldn't find Mintyheart. The brambles rustled and Blazingstar and Mintyheart bounded into camp. Dropping their kills at the pile Mintyheart trotted over to Palepaw, whose eyes were still as wide. _Poor little apprentice. _Mintyheart thought. _He should be ecstatic for his first gathering._

Blazingstar padded over to Bluefrost and Icecloud, nodding to each. Icecloud blinked and nodded back while Bluefrost lashed his tail and ducked his head slightly. _I know, I know, I'm late. _Blazingstar thought _But the moon isn't even up. "_I want to leave the camp as guarded as we can afford in case something goes , I'd like you to be in charge of camp until we return. I'll take Bluefrost, Peppernose, Mintyheart, Palepaw, Winterstorm, and Shimmerpaw. That will leave Sunstone, Alderfang, Maplefur, Skypool, and the elders with you." Bluefrost stood and started gathering the cats that were going with them in the center of camp. Once all the cats were gathered, Blazingstar gave a flick of his tail and they all poured into the tunnel and into the forest.

ForestClan swiftly jogged through the undergrowth and ferns that were bathed in moonlight. Their soft pads made hardly a sound among the oak, maple, beech, and sycamore trees. Once on the edge of a clearing, the warriors stopped and crouched under the undergrowth, hid by the brambles and bracken. The scents of ShadeClan and MeadowClan were present in the clearing up ahead.

"Marshclan isn't here yet," Bluefrost muttered to Blazingstar.

"They will be, StarClan willing," replied Blazingstar to his deputy. He flicked his tail, signally to his warriors to enter into the clearing. Blazingstar went first, with Bluefrost at his side a pawstep behind, and glaring menacingly at the other clans. Peppernose filed a tail-length behind Bluefrost, his brother, his tail held high. Shimmerpaw was in step with her mentor, WInterstorm. Her head was swiveling around, her tail flicking with excitement. Mintyheart seemed to be lagging behind, but he was just trying to coax out his apprentice. Palepaw found all the cats a bit overwhelming.

"Don't you want to meet some apprentices?"

"N-not really," the young apprentice stuttered.

"Come on! It will be fun!" The apprentice crouched even further onto the ground. "You can follow Shimmerpaw around -"

"She'll just laugh when the ShadeClan apprentices eat me! Or make me eat frog brains! Or contort my limbs! And then make me stick my own tail up my butt and then suck on it! She'll probably tell them to abuse me, too!"

Mintyheart sighed. He'd need to toughen this apprentice up. Thinking that Palepaw would say no he then said: "Well, I suppose you could follow me around and I could introduce you to all the warriors of the other clans. . . " Palepaw cocked his head to one side, weighing his options. "Alright," he said after a moment, and stood up properly and stood by his mentor, still looking a bit nervous, however. Shocked as well as disappointed, Mintyheart realized that he couldn't speak to Featherstep as he wished.

In the duration of Mintyheart and Palepaw's conversation, Marshclan had arrived. Mintyheart signaled his apprentice with his tail and they padded over to a group of warriors, among which was Featherstep. "Remember, don't say anything about our Clan that would weaken us."

"Hello," he mewed to the cats, "good hunting?" They all responded with "very well, thank you." "This is my apprentice, Palepaw." Palepaw looked up at the warriors, trying to look brave, but to everyone else he looked vaguely constipated. "That is Cindertail, a senior warrior of MeadowClan," he nodded to the husky dark gray she-cat. "And Minnowpelt, another senior warrior, but from Marshclan," he nodded again to the patched white on light brown she-cat. "And Featherstep," he tilted his head to the thin tabby warrior.

Featherstep nodded cordially to the ForestClan warrior. And he was trying to see him as just that. A rival warrior, not a friend, and certainly not more than that. These feelings were so hard to put down. . .

"He's a Meadowclan warrior". Mintyheart continued. _He looks even more dazzling in the moonlight. _

"Are you newly apprenticed?" Minnowpelt mewed, trying to be friendly to the wide eyed apprentice.

"Of course he's new. He's still got his kit fluff" Cindertail growled, muttering softer "just like his mentor."

Ignoring he she cats words, Mintyheart mewed knowing there was no way Palepaw would respond, "Yes, Shimmerpaw and Palepaw were made apprentices only two days ago." He mewed looking proudly down at Palepaw.

Palepaw looked up at Mintyheart, _I wish I had is confidence. _Palepaw thought.

"Well I think he'll make a great warrior. Mintyheart will train you well little one." Minnowpelt purred to the young cat. "So Mintyheart, all is well in Forstclan I hope?"

The cats continued with small talk until a cry resounded from the Great Rock from Miststar. The cats split off and re-gathered with their respective clans. As Minnowpelt and Cindertail padded away Mintyheart flicked Featherstep on the flank with the tip of his tail. "Would you meet me after the gathering? I really want to speak with you." He whispered.

Featherstep flicked his ears. "As you wish," and he sat down next to Mintyheart. But not too close. Palepaw sat on Mintyheart's other side.

Up on the Great Rock, Miststar began the gathering, "All is well in ShadeClan! Prey is plenty despite the colder weather. Our herbs are well stocked. And we have a new warrior to our ranks: Pinefall!" Miststar paused as the cats, mostly ShadeClan, called his name. Palepaw swiveled his head and gazed at the new warrior. _Pinefall looks so confident. But that will be me one day . . . hopefully. . ._

"That is all," Miststar concluded, and the gray leader stepped back. Heronstar flicked his tail to Heatherstar, letting her go first. "All is well in MeadowClan. Nothing new." She stepped back into the shadow.

"Marshclan is also thriving," he glared at the cats below, as if he were expecting someone to disagree. "Streamstep gave birth to a healthy litter of kits. Her addition has made our nursery quite full." And he stepped back, flicking his tail to Blazingstar.

The cats of Forestclan sat up a bit straighter as Blazingstar padded forward. His heart warmed as he looked down on them _They've all been through so much, yet they sit just as tall. _He couldn't believe how curt and short the other leaders were and how they totally avoided any conflict. _They are hiding great weakness. _He thought. _Don't they see that any cat can see that. _

_"_Forestclan welcomes two new apprentices who are here tonight, Palepaw and Shimmerpaw." He nodded to them and each shifted under his glance, although he couldn't help but think for different reasons. "Prey seems to be running well, better then it normally is this time of year, yet there is not enough to waste so boarders will be enforced." He shot a glace over at the Shadeclan leader, making a direct challenge to her and her warriors who had been crossing over the boarder a lot over the past moon and stealing prey.

Mintyheart's fur stood on end automatically. He didn't think that Blazingstar's direct shot at Miststar would go unchallenged and in the back of his mind he wish he would have taught Palepaw at least a few battles moves...

Shimmerpaw turned towards a Shadeclan warrior about two tail lengths away ,who was growling up at Blazingstar. She flattened her ears and let out a fierce hiss for a 2 day apprentice. Startled the huge tom looked at her for a moment before she turned to Winterstorm, suddenly afraid she may have crossed some line.

Winterstorm fluffed up his fur, making himself look twice as large, just in case that ShadeClan warrior decided to teach his apprentice a lesson.

Miststar stepped forward, claws sheathed, her silver fur gleaming in the moonlight. "Are you accusing my warriors of stealing your prey? Your warriors need your noses checked! Clearly they cannot distinguished their own scents between our scents!" Her warriors yowled in agreement.

"Do we need our eyes checked too?" Shimmerpaw growled back. Then quick sat down again, not wanting to anger Winterstorm.  
"Maybe if Shade clan wasn't on our territory so much they wouldn't smell like us." Mintyheart spat, letting his fur rise up and digging his claws fiercely into the dirt while glaring at a Shadeclan warrior he had chased off their land yesterday morning. He was aware of Featherstep next to him, but didn't dare look over at the Meadowclan warrior. He was also well aware of the fear sent coming off of Palepaw.

The two clans began to fluff up and a low sounding rumble came from all of their throats. Blazingstar waved is tall, "Peace Forestclan. I don't want to fight about this here, we must honor Starclan and the rules of the gathering." He turned is amber eyes on Miststar, "I'm just warning you and giving to a chance to rein in your unruly warriors." With that Blazingstar leapt down off the rock and landed gracefully at the bottom. Weaving through his still slightly fluffed up warriors he gathered them with his tail, he met Mintyheart's eyes and nodded, knowing there was something his friend needed to wrap up, maybe some conversation he had had earlier. "Catch up and be careful. Claws are out tonight." Blazingstar mewed. He knew that Mintyheart would be fine.

Mintyheart watched as his clan bounded out of the clearing. He slowly crept along the shadows and went under a bush on the out skirts of the clearing. Mintyheart noticed that his fur was slightly messy from getting worked up at the gathering. He was about to give himself a quick bath but he saw Featherstep's nose poke under the bush with the rest of him following. The tom's eyes met.

'Mintyheart let his eyes fall from Featherstep's. "It's not that I didn't want to see you anymore," he stammered over the words, "It's just it happened so fast. To be truthfully honest, I'm in a huge conflict with myself. Part of me thinks that what I feel isn't right and that I'm a disloyal member of my clan for it, but the other part of me longs to meet with you and always be at you side. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore." He breathed out a long breath. " I guess I wanted to say that I'm sorry for running away on you like that. I deeply regret it..." He stood to leave, totally unsure how Featherstep felt. He couldn't meet the other tom's eyes.

There was a long pause where Featherstep closed his eyes, deep in thought. "I think you will be able to accept us when you accept yourself." And with that he abruptly turned, his tail flicking in his wake. Right before he dipped into the ferns he turned his head and called over his shoulder, "Same place, same time?"

"Yes" he breathed out without thinking. Yet there still was a little nagging voice in his ear reminding him of how wrong his actions were. Shaken has head to free himself if them he pelted back through the forest and into camp, where after nodding quickly to Maplefur and flicking his tail in response to Blazingstar's gaze, he entered the warrior den.


	3. Chapter 3

The hunting patrol arrived at camp carrying much needed prey. Mintyheart dropped his catch at the pile and seeing a plump rabbit, grabbed it and padded towards the nursery. Seeing Winterstorm only a few paw steps behind, he halted letting him catch up. "So whose that squirrel for?" Mintyheart purred around the prey in his mouth. Flicking his tail playfully he headed over to where Maplefur was taking a nap in the last sun rays of leaf fall. "Maplefur. Wake up." He mewed softly. "I brought you a rabbit to share." Sitting down beside her and listening to her mew about the 5 she-kits already kicking he looked over to the center of camp where Palepaw was covering his head in a heap while Echokit and Foxkit sprang onto his back and batted at his whiskers mercilessly. _I need to teach him better ways to defend himself. That's going to be all we do tomorrow, battle training. _

Winterstorm set the squirrel down at Skypool's paws. "Thanks Winterstorm." She mewed warmly. "I assume that hunting went well. Not too long before I get to go out again. Not that I don't love being with my kits." She purred and glanced over to make sure they weren't getting into too much trouble. Seeing Shimmerpaw padding over to the two kits she knew it could be much longer...

"I'm sure you could go hunting now if you wanted to. Maplefur or no - erm, somebody could watch your kits I'm sure. But you're right. They are going to be made apprentices soon. Has Blazingstar told you who will be their mentors yet?" Winterstorm sat down near Skypool and continued sharing tongues.

Young Palepaw attempted to crawl out of the mound of she-cats. Unfortunately for him, Shimmerpaw had begun teaching Echokit and Foxkit how to pounce with their paws extended. Three she-cats proved too much for the tom and he gave up, whimpering as their paws matted him dusty.

"Girls! Play nice with your brother. And Palepaw don't be afraid to knock them over a bit." Skypool called out before returning her attention on Winterstorm again. "No, Blazingstar hasn't told me anything. Although I have a feeling that the options are limited. I mean only Icecloud, Sunstone, Spiceheart, Bluefrost or Adderfang. Unless for some reason Blazingstar or Peppernose take on apprentices." She let her mind wander about who would be the best match for her kits.

"Now Echokit. You're stronger, so after Foxkit dashes in and bites Palepaw's tail and he turns his head towards her you leap on top of his head aiming for his ears and I'll jump into his back and tip him off balance so that Foxkit can get to his belly fur." Shimmerpaw mewed in hushed tones to the two kits. "Okay...attack." The she-cats put their plan into action perfectly.

Mintyheart lashed his tail and let out an angry hiss. "Those Shadeclan fleabags are SO lucky they heard the patrol coming. I would gladly rip every hair out of their mangy pelts."

"Keep your fur on Mintyheart. I think your scarring your apprentice." Sunstone purred, although she looked just as ready to claw the cats that stole prey from their territory.

"Come on. We better go tell Blazingstar." Mintyheart turned and padded back into the woods with Palepaw, Adderfang, and Sunstone right behind him.

_He's not going to be happy. _Mintyheart thought. _I don't understand why they keep crossing our borders. Blazingstar warned them at the last gathering but they ignored it. It's been two weeks and they have been crossing it more than ever. _

Entering the camp he headed right to the leader's den. Palepaw followed him timidly and they both paused outside.

"Blazingstar?" Mintyheart mewed.

"Mintyheart? Come in!"

Mintyheart padded forward. The den was dimly lit and Blazingstar sat in a corner with his tail wrapped around his paws.

"There were Shadeclan warriors across our boarders again today. They pelted away before we

could attack. It looked like there was prey in their jaws." Mintyheart reported.

Blazingstar's eyes glowed in the low light. He stood up quickly, dug his claws into the rock cave and let out a fierce hiss which made Palepaw recoil and almost hide his head behind Mintyheart.  
"I'm so sick of this!" Blazingstar spat. "Mintyheart. Get Bluefrost, Icecloud, and Peppernose and send them to my den. Tell them it's important."

Mintyheart nodded to his leader and padded out with Palepaw darting out behind him. Turning to his apprentice, "Palepaw, can you go get Peppernose. He should be in his den. And wake up Icecloud. He was on night watch so he should be sleeping in the warrior's den." He turned and pelted out of camp imagining how wide Palepaw's eyes must be. _It's good for him. _Mintyheart purred. He let his paws carry him to the side of the woods closest to Meadowclan, where Bluefrost should be leading a hunting patrol with Winterstorm and Shimmerpaw. Glancing over at Meadowclan territory his heart beat faster as the thought about meeting with Featherstep at the next gathering. Spotting Winterstorm's white pelt be padded over. "Greetings Winterstrom. Do you know where Bluefrost is?"

"Yea. I last saw him over that way." Winterstorm mewed as he finished digging a hole for the thrush he'd caught.

Shimmerpaw came back with a squirrel dragging from her mouth. "Hello Mintyheart! Are you joining us?"

"No, I'm looking for Bluefrost." Mintyheart mewed.

"I'll get him. He's was just over..." Spinning around she disappeared into a clump of ferns.

"She seems to be doing well." Mintyheart purred to Winterstorm.

"She is. How is Palepaw?"

"Improving." Mintyheart mewed sitting beside Winterstorm. "Still trying to build up his confidence."

"I'm sure you're doing well Mintyheart."

Shimmerpaw returned followed by Bluefrost, who had two mice between his jaws.

"What is it Mintyheart?" Bluefrost meowed.

"Blazingstar want to talk with you in his den. Now. He said it was important. I'll take your mice

back for you if you'd like."

Nodding Bluefrost turned to leave. "There is another under that fern over there." Flicking his tail to show Mintyheart were, he disappeared in the brambles.

When Bluefrost entered Blazingstar's den he found Icecloud and Peppernose already there, both hunched over in the dim light their eyes gleaming. Surprisingly, Palepaw was there too; not surprisingly he wasn't looking menacingly like the others. This wasn't the place for the young apprentice. He flicked his ears to the young cat and said, "Why don't you go join the hunting patrol I just left? They are by the MeadowClan border. I'm sure they will appreciate your help." And Palepaw ducked his head, mumbled something, and raced off.

Facing the others, he growled, "I presume this meeting is about ShadeClan?"

Blazingstar sat flicking his tail impatiently. "Yes. I wanted to get my senior warriors opinions of what actions we should take. I'm sick of not having our boarders respected." Blazingstar nodded, giving all the cats in his den permission to speak freely.

"We should increase or patrols and then at the next gathering address the issue with Miststar." Icecloud mewed calmly.

"I've done that already and it hasn't worked." Blazingstar spat, standing up and started passing.

"And I don't want to run my warriors paws ragged paroling the boarder when we are entering leaf fall."

Bluefrost flicked his tail before addressing Blazingstar, "I know this isn't your style, but I think we should wait on the border for them with all of our warriors and attack their hunting patrol. They will just have a patrol, perhaps two or three warriors and an apprentice, whereas we will have our full fighting force. Even if we kept a warrior or two at camp, we would still outnumber them and will most definitely have a victory."

"That would be ideal, except that I don't believe we are strong enough. ShadeClan has many strong warriors. We have strong warriors too, but not enough to take on ShadeClan." Peppernose mewed. Bluefrost started to say something, but Peppernose cut him off: "Oh sure, you would win the battle. But don't you think they wouldn't retaliate? After we taught them a lesson they might invade our camp. Do you really think we can fend them off when we have fewer warriors than they do, newer apprentices, and queens in the nursery? And with leaf-bare on our river bank?"

Bluefrost gave a low growl and lashed his tail once.

Thinking for a moment Blazingstar replied, "Well then I'll make Echokit and Foxkit apprentices. That would also allow Skypool to get out of the nursery. They should be made apprentices soon anyway."

"Maybe you should listen to our medicine cat Blazingstar," Icecloud mewed. "Maybe Starclan doesn't want us to enter this battle. We've already lost so many in needless battles."

"Do you think this would be a needless battle?" Blazingstar growled as he turned his head to stare at his former mentor. "I think the warrior code is very clear in telling us to defend our boarders and our prey. We won't even be warriors if this continues."

Icecloud locked gazes with the younger cat but Blazingstar didn't blink.

"I'm against it." Peppernose said flatly.

"I think," Bluefrost started slowly, "that we would prove our point. However, how many cats are you willing to sacrifice? I would gladly leap into battle for ForestClan for your motives. Perhaps . . ." he paused, thinking. "Perhaps the battle would be better if we waited a couple seasons for our apprentices to grow and mature."

Growling Blazingstar broke his gaze with Icecloud. "Can we wait a few more seasons? How much are we willing to put up with? The other clans walk all over us. We aren't respected. I would rather lead a battle then sit back and lose are territory to Shadeclan."

"Yes but can you knowing lead cats to a battle they can't win? How much better would the clan be if it lost now health warriors in this battle and then is again open to attack by Shadeclan." Icecloud mewed flatly. "Don't lead your clan into a battle they can't win. Every leader has their rookie mistake and right now the clan can't afford it."

Hissing under his breath Blazingstar sat down. "As my senior warriors and medicine cat, I respect and value your opinions, because you have lived many more moons then me. I still don't agree but I will wait till after the next gathering to take any action directly against Shadeclan. I would still like it if tomorrow mornings border patrol was larger than normal and hid along the border and made an appearance before Shadeclan crossed our boarder. They know are patterns as well, so Bluefrost, I'd like it if the patrols times were randomly spaced along the Shadeclan boarder, in order to keep a better eye on it. I will speak with Miststar again at the next gathering if anything continues."

Silence filled the den for a moment. Then Bluefrost slowly nodded in consensus. "I will lead the patrol," pausing to think he continued, "and whoever you make Foxkit's and Echokit's mentors will stay behind and take all of the apprentices out, so Winterstorm and Mintyheart will be on the patrol for sure. And Skypool. She'll probably look forward to it. And I guess Maplefur will guard camp?" he concluded.

"What do you plan to do, Blazingstar?" asked Peppernose. "If you go on the patrol it will convey the meaning that we're serious, but it also might convey that we have to drag our leader into engagements every time we have a point to prove."

"I was going to ask Spiceheart and Sunstone to be mentors to Echokit and Foxkit. I think it would be best for me to sit this one out and stay within the camp in case things don't go well. I trust your judgment Bluefrost and know you will handle everything fine. Although..." Blazingstar paused. "Maybe you should take another warrior with you to have a few more numbers on your side. Take Adderfang as well. That will leave me, Icecloud, Peppernose, Maplefur and the elders in camp. And we can send the apprentices with Sunstone and Spiceheart to do a little hunting."

All the cats nodded in agreement and Blazingstar dismissed them with a flick of his tail.

"Alright you apprentices! You're in for a rough day today!" Sunstone nearly shouted at the four young cats.

"Sunstone, Blazingstar just said to show them the territory, minus the ShadeClan border of course." Spiceheart contradicted. She and Sunstone were in charge of all four apprentices today, not just their two. Palepaw looked spooked as usual. Everything made him jumpy, especially his sister and Foxpaw and Echopaw. Foxpaw and Echopaw looked like they could handle anything, as it was their first day of being an apprentice. Shimmerpaw, on the other paw, looked dissatisfied.

"I want to _fight._ Not be shown around the territory like a blind kit. I already _know _where everything is," she complained. "Why can't I go on the patrol to ambush those scummy Shadeclan thieves!?"

"Well. . . maybe if we get done fast today Sunstone can teach you some battle moves?" suggested Spiceheart democratically.

"Or how about she learns some manners! How in the world does Winterstorm put up with such an unruly attitude?! I wouldn't put up with it if I was your mentor!"

"Well, that works out just fine because you're not my mentor," retorted Shimmerpaw under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Okay okay, break it up." Spiceheart waved her tail to stop the two from bickering.

With a _humpf_ Sunstone backed down and called, "Echopaw! Stay by me." With a yawn her apprentice padded after her. "I hope you're not tired already!"

"No I'm okay.– I just didn't sleep well. Had some weird dreams last night, but I just can't remember what they were about."

Sunstone grunted noncommittally, and the cats padded into the forest.

On the other side of the forest from where Spiceheart and Sunstone were leading the apprentices, five cats lurked silently in the dark part of the forest. It was nearly dawn, and they had been out there, waiting, for a while before dawn.

They were formed into two groups. A large gray tom that looked blue in the dim light crouched under some ferns. To the right of him was black and white tom who was father back and not visible, but his clanmates nonetheless knew he was there. On the far left a smaller silver tom with black stripes was hidden behind a log; he was at the precise angle so that he could see an approaching patrol. The other two cats, a pretty white she-cat with ginger stripes and a large white tom, were up in the trees, for if they were on the ground, their pelts might give them away.

Bluefrost narrowed his eyes as four cats approached the border. An apprentice was trailing after his mentor, Cedarheart. Bluefrost couldn't remember the young cat's name. Also in the patrol was Ashfoot, an older she-cat, and Pinefall, ShadeClan's newest warrior. Bluefrost almost purred; they would definitely win.

The approaching patrol was soon in hearing distance: "So Ashfoot, you're going to keep a lookout." That was Cedarheart speaking. "But we shouldn't have too much of a problem, even if they do decide to show their pathetic faces."

The patrol crossed the border and entered into ForestClan territory, ears perked for prey. All the ForestClan cat's eyes were on Bluefrost now. With a twitch of his tail he emerged from the undergrowth, everyone else still in place. Ashfoot gave a startled yowl which quickly died as she realized her clanmates could see the deputy.

"Just what do you think you're doing on ForestClan territory?" growled Bluefrost, hackles raised.

"Are ForestClan cats so dumb that they can't recognize a hunting patrol when they see one?" replied Cedarheart.

"Are ShadeClan cats so mouse-brain that they can't smell a border when they cross one?" retorted Bluefrost.

"ShadeClan cats can smell a border," hissed Pinefall. "If there was any border to be smelled."

"Cheeky kit!" spat Bluefrost.

"Poor ForestClan. Patchstar's leadership has left them so weak that they do not have enough warriors to maintain their borders," mocked Cedarheart. "Let alone defend them!"

"Do not underestimate our courage!" hissed Bluefrost.

"_Our_ courage? _Our_ courage? You're the only one here!" joshed Pinefall.

"Yeah! You're the only one here!" repeated Badgerpaw.

Bluefrost let out a low hiss before flicking his tail. Adderfang and Mintyheart slithered out from the ferns and bracken.

"Oho! ForestClan fighting back, eh? Except one thing. There's four of us and three of you!"

"Cedarheart, perhaps we should go back. Badgerpaw's still young—"Ashfoot began.

"No! He's not your kit anymore, Ashfoot. He's my apprentice! "Cedarheart yowled and pelted toward the ForestClan cats, Pinefall, Ashfoot, and Badgerpaw in tow. The unknowingly raced passed the trees where Winterstorm and Skypool were hiding in the branches above. Once passed, Bluefrost let out a yowl and Skypool and Winterstorm jumped down, cutting the ShadeClan cats off from their own territory.

The four she-cats and Palepaw padded along in silence. Once in a while Sunstone or Spiceheart would point something out but not too often.

"This is so boring." Shimmerpaw mewed to her brother. "Don't you want to be with Winterstorm and Mintyheart fighting?" She flicked her ears back at her brother's blank stare. "Or at least hunting for the clan. Our warriors will have no food when they return." Palepaw nodded and Spiceheart looked back at the two apprentices, silently agreeing.

Rounding a corner they came to the bank of the river that bordered Meadowclan. "This is..."Sunstone began "...the river..."

"That borders Meadowclan!" Echopaw finished. "It looks so much different during the day." She meowed softer to her sister but still quite loud.

"Yea, the water doesn't look as black and scary now. Maybe it's because we are apprentices now." Foxpaw replied.

Shimmerpaw's eyes grew wide and she quickly reached out a claw and snagged Foxpaw's side.  
"Ouch! What was that for?" Foxpaw growled but suddenly became aware of Sunstone inches away from her and Echopaw.

"What are you two talking about? Have you been out here before? You weren't supposed to leave camp." Sunstone growled.

"We..umm..." Echopaw stuttered trying to come up with a good reason.

"We weren't out here alone." If that helps, Foxpaw put in.

"Did your mother take you?" The golden she-cat questioned. " I can't imagine Skypool being so irresponsible as to take her kits out of camp..."

Shimmerpaw hissed at the way Sunstone was speaking of her adoptive mother. "No, I took them out here a week or so after my apprenticeship. Skypool didn't know, so stop talking bad about her. She's a better mother then you'll ever be."

All eyes were on the feuding she-cats. "Get back to camp now." Sunstone rumbled. Spinning around with a hiss Shimmerpaw started towards camp. "Don't think that Winterstorm and Blazingstar won't hear about this."

Letting out one more hiss Shimmerpaw disappeared. _Thank goodness she's not my mentor. During battle training my claws might not always be sheathed_. _I'm hunting. _Shimmerpaw thought as she padded along the ferns._Mind as well do something useful for the clan._

Bluefrost locked in a tangle of fur and claws with Cedarheart tumbling on the forest floor. Skypool leaped at Ashfoot and surprising her from behind and easily gaining the advantage. Winterstorm maintained his position in case any cat tried to make a run for it. Pinefall ran right towards Mintyheart, who skillfully dashed to the right dragging his back legs behind him, tripping Pinefall and then easily jumping up and landing on the younger warrior and digging his claws into his exposed belly. Adderfang, seeing that Badgerpaw looked confused and disoriented, stalked towards him and mercilessly ranking the apprentice's side before using the larger apprentice's size against him, and knocking him off balance. Letting out a sheik of terror Badgerpaw dashed back across the border leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

"You should have clawed his nose off." Adderfang hissed at Winterstorm.

"He's a young apprentice. And you already wounded him as if he was a warrior."

Adderfang let out a low growl but was distracted as a flash of fur caught his eye. Ashfoot was retreating from Skypool after seeing her kit limp off. Like the snake in which he is named, Adderfang, crouched down and sprang, claws extended at the she-cat. Landing a blow both to her nose and battered her ear as she pelted after her kit.

Mintyheart still was fighting with Pinefall but the younger warrior was tiring as Mintyheart executed his battle moves without effort. _Thank you Icecloud for tarring me apart as an apprentice _Mintyheart thought to himself. _Time to send him back to his camp. _Mintyheart mewed to himself. Ducking down and pushing off with all his might he sprang into the air. Landing on the other tom's shoulders he used his hind legs to push down on the Pinefall's spine, in order to make him buckle to the ground. Once having him on the ground he ranked his claws down Pinefall's side. Pinefall let out a wail of pain, after which he Mintyheart stepped off the tom letting him escape, as the warrior code clearly stated.

Bluefrost had been pushing Cedarheart back the whole time with cleverly placed blows and well thought out blocks. As the blue-gray warrior raised his paw for another strike Cedarheart dashed over the border, avoiding the large white tom to his right. Once over the boarder he turned back to the Forestclan cats. "This isn't over." He breathed.

"Oh it isn't?" Mintyheart remarked. "I'm pretty sure that Bluefrost could batter you all the way back to your den." Skypool let out a purr of amusement.

Hissing Cedarheart mewed, "Unlike Forestclan, we don't need to bring the whole camp on a border patrol. I'm shocked Blazingstar isn't here. Hope that you all aren't hungry because there are no warriors left to hunt with you all here. You may have one this battle but you can't win a war. Make sure you let Blazingstar know that, Bluefrost. You may have a young leader but he can lose his lives just as quickly at the paw of a Shadeclan warrior." Turning he disappeared into the brambles.

After making sure ever last sign of ShadeClan was gone, Bluefrost asked his clanmates: "Is everyone alright?" Everyone nodded. Just a few bruises and scratches. Nothing too deep, then. "Alright, let's recent our markers and then head back to camp." And they did just that.

Back at camp, a brown she-cat shifted impatiently on her paws. "What kind of medicine cat are you? You seriously cannot feel my kits squirming under my skin?"

Peppernose sighed. For the past half moon or so Maplefur had been coming to see him every other day or so, asking him to check her vitals, or give her some borage (not that he did), or ask him to talk sweetly to her kits to reassure them that he would deliver them safely. At the point of the former he not only refused but questioned her sanity to her face. She just responded: "If you won't then, I'll just get Mintyheart to do it!" Good luck, Mintyheart, was all Peppernose had to say.

Today, however, she was asking him to check up on her kits, to make sure one hadn't died whilst still in her belly. Unfortunately, he wasn't a very patient cat.

"Look," he snapped, "I honestly cannot tell if you are even pregnant right now, let alone how many kits you are going to have, let alone the state of their being."

"Well of course I'm pregnant! Can't you see how big my belly is?"

"Your belly is that big because of all the fresh kill you have been eating," he mewed flatly.

"You've been eating more than Heavystep."

"I need to keep up my strength! These kits are the future of the clan! Without kits our clan cannot survive. You will tell me how my kits are today," she persisted.

"Fine." And Peppernose nosed her belly, taking a few sniffs, and prodded it with his paw.

He then looked her in the eye, took a deep breath, and said, "All seven of them, all she-cats, are dead."

Maplefur took a step back, her eyes wide. She then wailed loud enough for StarClan to hear before rushing out of his hollow.

"Finally. Some peace."

As the patrol padded closer to camp they heard a shriek up ahead. "What is Starclan's name was that?" Adderfang hissed.

"Maplefur." Mintyheart and Skypool mewed in unison. Nodding Bluefrost let Mintyheart ran up ahead. Dashing nimbly over the forest floor he entered camp. Blazingstar was crouched on a rock and stood as Mintyheart entered, worry clearly reflected in his eyes. Shaking his head to Blazingstar, he jogged over to the nursery where he could hear whimpers.

"Maplefur?" He mewed from outside. "Are you okay?"

"No!" She hissed. "All my kits are dead!"

"What?" Shock in his voice. "How do you know that?"

"Peppernose told me. I knew it! I just knew it!I told him I wasn't feeling good yesterday but he wouldn't listen! He MURDERED them!" She let out a loud wail again.

Sighing Mintyheart mewed softly, "Can I come in?" His response was only a soft whimper. Ducking his head down he squeezed in the dark den. Maplefur was curled up in the far corner making little snuffling noises. Mintyheart padded up next her and touched his nose to the top of her head, she turned away hissing. Laying down next to her he wrapped his tail over her and began slowly licking her flank. At first she flinched always at him but slowly she began to relax. After a few minutes he mewed, "Maplefur! Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" she mewed alternately.

"I think a felt a little kick." He lied.

"Oh! I felt that too!" She cried.

Skypool slipped into the den and purred to Mintyheart. "Bluefrost wants you to see Peppernose for that scratch on your leg." Maplefur let out a gasp.

"It's nothing, really." Mintyheart stood. "But I'll go." Turning to Maplefur he meowed softly,

"You are doing a great job. We will have very healthy and strong kits." And with that the two she-cats watched him go.

Blazingstar sat with Bluefrost, who was finishing up his report on the ambush when Shimmerpaw padded in alone, carrying 3 mice and a small thrush in her mouth. "Where's the rest of the apprentices?" Blazingstar called to her.

"Ummm...still out." She muttered around her prey. She padded over to the fresh kill pile.

The entrance shook and Sunstone emerged with the rest of the apprentices and Spiceheart. Sunstone's face soured when she saw Shimmerpaw and headed right towards Blazingstar, flicking her tail at Winterstorm, beckoning for him to join them. Palepaw stood frozen as he saw Mintyheart's tail disappear into Peppernose's den, thinking that the only explanation would be that his mentor was dying. Spiceheart turned towards Echopaw and Foxpaw, "Go to the elder's den. I'll get some bile from Peppernose and then I'll show you how to check the elder's for ticks." Nodding the two sisters padded towards the elder's den, occasionally batting at one another playfully.

"You're apprentice is completely disrespectful!" Sunstone hissed at Winterstorm. "She talks back, doesn't respect any of the warriors, and thinks she can do whatever she likes. Like go off alone and hunt while there is an ambush going on!" Glaring at Winterstrom she added. "AND, I found out she snuck Echopaw and Foxpaw out of camp when they were kits at night at showed them around the Meadowclan boarder!"

Winterstorm blinked patiently at Sunstone's harsh words. "I'm sure there's an explanation. Perhaps something had upset her?" he asked tentatively.

Spiceheart had returned from Peppernose's den with some mouse bile. The elders were dozing in their cozy dens. To her surprise, Echopaw and Foxpaw were not abusing Palepaw. They were batting at each other, leaving Palepaw alone to deal with his sudden attack of hiccups. "This is mouse bile," and she began to promptly explain how to use it. She then left the apprentices to it, unfortunately for Palepaw. His hiccups had not subsided and the she-cats decided to test the bile out on Palepaw first, even though he didn't have ticks, just to make sure that it worked.

Sunstone's fur was on end and she dug her claws into the soft earth. " _**I **_did something to upset her!" She hissed. "She was being disrespectful and somehow it's MY fault. Did I also, somehow, force her to sneak out of camp with kits!" Blazingstar let out a murrow of laughter, though he tried to hide it from the fuming she-cat.

"Oh Sunstone, keep your pelt on." Mintyheart mewed as he passed by, on his way to find Palepaw. "You sound like an elder. It wasn't long ago that we would all get into trouble as apprentices." He twitched his tail to Blazingstar, whose eyes twinkled in response; both recalling all their mischief. Mintyheart flung a paw full of dirt at the she-cat. Hissing she shook her pelt,

"Yes, but some of us have grown up and don't act like kits anymore!"

"When does growing up mean you stop having fun?" Mintyheart asked, a gleam still in his eyes. Sunstone, now beyond pissed, spun away, growing about the clan falling apart thanks to how toms act like kits.

Mintyheart let out a loud purr and bounded over to the elder's den, waving his tail in farewell to Blazingstar and Winterstorm.


	4. Chapter 4

As he entered the den he heard Heavystep going on about some great battle that Patchstar has lead them into, where he was covered in blood and hordes of cats died.

Great,

Mintyheart thought, _please_ _make my apprentice even more terrified then he naturally is. _"Palepaw."  
Palepaw leaped about 10 feet into the air, landing with a thud and a hiss and spinning around to face Mintyheart, who by now couldn't stop the rumble of purrs in his throat. Echopaw and Foxpaw, had fallen over and were rolling on the ground, laughing at their brother; although, at first there was a twinge of fear in their eyes.  
"I wanted to take you out and practice some battle moves." Mintyheart mewed warmly to his apprentice. Nodding Palepaw followed him out of camp, although he didn't look very happy with this tail dragging in the dirt.

Upon arriving at the training hallow Mintyheart turned to Palepaw. "Do you remember what we were working on last time?" Palepaw nodded. "Well what was it?"

Winterstorm blinked, a weariness in his eyes. "I will say something to Shimmerpaw, just to get the burrs out of Sunstone's pelt. But I don't believe Shimmerpaw would make a fuss unless someone said something or did something to her first." He twitched his ears in the direction of his apprentice. "I was wondering, Blazingstar. If we could hold a tournament for the apprentices. Perhaps in a quarter moon so the newer apprentices know some hunting pounces. They will start here in camp, then they have to meet up on top of the Rocky Hill where a warrior will be to testify that they made it. But before they arrive at the Rocky Hill, they will have to have caught a piece of prey. They leave the prey with the warrior, and the warrior can bring the prey back to camp after the last apprentice passed through their checkpoint. The next checkpoint will be on the Crossing Log with another warrior and the same requirements. The next checkpoint could be High Oak. And the final place could be ForestClan camp. The tournament would exercise each apprentices' hunting ability, navigational skills, speed, endurance, and stealth (they don't want the other apprentices following them if the apprentice's navigational skills are weak). In addition to the three warriors placed around the forest, I think two warriors should trail behind the apprentices to make sure nothing bad happens to them."

Palepaw nodded miserably at Mintyheart's inquiry. "L-last t-time we worked on making sure to look angry-did at m-my eneminimy. And to gr-gr-gr-growl. And no fleching, Finching. I mean flinching. And eyes ohopen."

_Oh Starclan help me. _Mintyheart thought as he looked at his shaking apprentice. Standing he padded silently over to Palepaw. "Okay. I thought we'd learn one move today, and then force on it till you have it mastered."  
"Ma-mastered?"

"Yea. You can do it." Stepping quickly to the right then quickly leaping up and over Palepaw's head and landing on the left, hooking his sheathed paw around and under Palepaw's jaw, knocking him off balance. Once he was staggering trying to regain his paws, Mintyheart dove under him, pushing up with his back legs and arching his back sending the little ginger cat into the air. Twisting his spine and leaping at the airborne apprentice, his soft pad slid along Palepaw's flank. As he hit the ground Mintyheart leaped one final time landing in a great position to rank his belly fur or even bite at his neck.

Palepaw's eyes were the size of full moons as he looked up at his mentor. "I can never do that..." He breathed out. "Did your mentor teach you that?"

Mintyheart shook his head, "No. I made that up once when I was an apprentice play fighting with Blazingstar. And let me tell you, it works." He purred as he released the little tom. "And you CAN do it. Granted, it will take time to master it...Maybe we can break it into parts and then piece it together. Do you remember what I did first?"

Palepaw frowned. "The first thing you did was attack me."

Mintyheart raised his eyebrows. "And?"

"You attacked me some more."

Mintyheart, without sighing, mewed, "I stepped to the right and then jumped up and over you and landed on your left. I want you to try doing that to me. I know I am considerably larger than you, but just think of how high you will be able to jump when you become a warrior if you can jump over me now as an apprentice. Begin."  
Shaking, the young apprentice jumped but ended up smashing into Mintyheart's flank.

"You need to go farther right." Smash. "Not so far away." Smash. "You will be able to get better distance when you are older." Smash. "Power, Palepaw, power!" Swish. Palepaw barely brushed Mintyheart before crumbling to the forest floor, covered in dirt. "That's more like it! Good job! You're catching on fast!" And Palepaw purred unsteadily.

Palepaw shook his pelt. "Do I have to do it again?"

"Of course you have to do it again, but first I want you to tell me what was different about the time you made it over me." Mintyheart mewed.

"Well...I made it over..."

"Yes, other than that." Mintyheart twitched his tail.

"Did you duck?" Palepaw questioned, not looking at his mentor's face.

"No. You made it all on you own." Mintyheart meowed encouragingly. "Try this, in a few moments I will be making you jump as high in the air as you can 50 times. Why would I do this?"

"Because you think I'm a worthless apprentice and you are punishing me for not doing well..."By now Palepaw was staring at the ground.

"What? No! I like having you as an apprentice. You learn quick and try hard. There is nothing more I could ask for. The reason I want you to leap up 50 times is to build up leg muscle. Right now, if I was an apprentice, say Shimmerpaw, you could easily jump over me. But in you get the power in your legs to jump over me now, imagine when you are a warrior, you'd get completely out of striking range. Now, 25 jumps. Each as high as you can then 25 more as far as you can to the right or left. Do these every morning and in no time you'll be able to leap clear over me. Okay?"  
_

Blazingstar's eyes lit up. "That sounds like a great idea. We can hold it a few days before the gathering!" He meowed excitedly. "I think the whole clan will enjoy it." Nodding his head to Winterstorm he padded off to check on the Elders before heading to his den for a little nap.

Winterstorm followed Blazingstar to the Elder's den, but didn't enter. He gently mewed "Shimmerpaw!"

A few seconds passed till Shimmerpaw poked her head out of the den. "Yes WInterstorm?" She mewed in a pleasant tone, as if she was happy to see him. "I know Sunstone and Spiceheart took you out this morning, but are you up for some more training?" asked Winterstorm.

"O-okay," murmured Palepaw, mused by his task.

"I'd love to!" Shimmerpaw bounced up into the air, before quickly trying to suppress her kit like excitement. _I'm so happy he's not pissed at me. Maybe he understands how mouse brained Sunstone can be._

Winterstorm flicked his tail as a signal to follow him. The two of them padded out of camp. "I am going to teach you how to climb a tree properly. Of course, climbing comes naturally for cats, especially ForestClan cats and ShadeClan cats, so I think that you will manage it quite easily. And we are going to climb High Oak, as you know is the tallest tree in the forest. But that's not why we're going there. You will most definitely not be climbing to the top." He slowed his pace slightly and shot Shimmerpaw a stern gaze. "That tree, because it is the tallest tree, is the oldest tree. And older trees have softer bark, which makes climbing easier."

They had reached the tree after about ten minutes of a hard run. They were both out of breath by the time they arrived.

While they caught their breath, Winterstorm gave instructions. "The important thing to remember about climbing is to keep your claws firmly entrenched in the bark. Normally, once you become an experienced tree-climber, you can engage in the two step climbing technique. But for now, we will do the four step. The two halves of your body will work in accordance with each other. I find it best to image that your front paws are connected to your hind paws with a stick or something. So when you move your front foot, the hind foot on that side of your body moves right after. Those are the first two steps. The last two steps are just doing the same thing on the other side of your body. It looks like this." And Winterstorm demonstrated. Whilst on the first branch, he continued his lecture: "Some cats prefer the four step method, or do a version of it. Whatever works best for you. If you manage it easily, I will teach you the two step and you can decide which you like best. Your turn." And he jumped down.

Racing towards the tree Shimmerpaw jumped and dug her claws into the soft bark. Looking up she lifted her right front paw and her back and stretched them up and dug then into the tree again. Shifting her weight to her new paw hold she tried to lift her left paw. It didn't move. She tried again, nothing. Panic began to show in her clear blue eyes. Letting go of her right upper paw hold she leaned backwards trying to pull her paw free. She couldn't hear Winterstorm's mew over the pounding of her heart. In one last desperate attempt she kicked out with her back legs against the tree. Her paw was free from the tree, but so was the rest of her. She landed on her side with a thump on the ground below. Her paw stung. Opening her eyes she could see Winterstorm climbing down the tree.

Getting to her feet, she set her hurt paw down lightly, making it look as if she had her full weight on it. Her paw was hot and it throbbed, _I must have torn a claw. _Twitching the tip of her tail she met her mentor's worried eyes, "I'm fine. I think I dug my claws in to the bark a bit too far." She mewed playfully. "Can I try once more?"

Winterstorm twitched his ears. "Well, only if you're sure you are okay. And if you can't lift your paws off the bark it definitely means that you have your claws too far in. Try again." he suggested.

Shimmerpaw narrowed her eyes in determination, trying to ignore the pain in her paw. She set towards the tree at a brisk pace and jumped a few tail lengths up the trunk. She fully engaged her claws in the trunk and then gingerly pulled them back in to a point where she was holding on but not nearly attached to the tree. "I think I got it!" she meowed down to Winterstorm.

Winterstorm and Shimmerpaw padded into camp just as the sun disappeared behind the trees and darkness covered the forest. "Good work today." Winterstorm mewed. Shimmerpaw's eyes glittered at his praise and she headed over to the apprentices den. As she entered Echopaw's head popped up. "Shimmerpaw? Are you hurt?" She mewed under her breath, so she didn't wake Foxpaw or Palepaw.

"No. I'm fine."

"You're paw steps don't sound fine." Echopaw relayed back is a low tone.

"My paw steps?" Shimmerpaw sat down wrapping her tail over her paws.

"You two can stop trying to whisper." Foxpaw meowed, opening one eye. "You both suck at it." She twitched her ears playfully.

"See! You woke Foxpaw." Shimmerpaw mewed acquiescently.

"Did not. She wasn't sleeping. We just came in here. Now, what did you do to your paw?" Echopaw got up and reached towards her paw to sniff it, but was interrupted by Shimmerpaw whacking her in the face with her tail.

"Yuck! Shimmerpaw!" Echopaw spat. "See, you can't even put weight on it. Go to Peppernose. He'll give you something to make the swelling go down."

"Who died and made you medicine cat?" Shimmerpaw mewed.

"Fine. If you're scared of him I'll get him." Echopaw jumped out on the den and raced over to Peppernose's den.

"Peppernose!"Echopaw's mew rang though the den. A grunt was his reply. "Shimmerpaw as a swollen paw. She needs something to make the swelling go down."

"If she's hurt, then why are YOU here?" Peppernose snapped.

"Because SHE is hurt and can't walk over here. Besides she's stubborn. Now come on." Not waiting for him to respond she turned and padded quickly back to the den.

"Oh, really," he muttered under his breath. "Then I wonder how she got back in camp if she's unable to walk on it!"

He padded into the apprentices den to find Foxpaw looking up at him, Shimmerpaw deliberately not looking at him, and Echopaw glaring at him. "Echopaw said you hurt your paw," he mewed bluntly.

"I'm not hurt! Honestly, I'm fine. Echopaw's just fussing!"

"Well, then. Don't mind me. I'm sure you're hungry after training all day. I won't stop you from getting some prey from the fresh-prey pile." And without further ado he sat down.

Shimmerpaw gaped at him while Echopaw just glared more defiantly. "I'm not hungry!" Her stomach rumbled.

"Oh, really?" Peppernose mused. With an angry glance at Echopaw Shimmerpaw stood up and padded out and to the fresh-kill pile, trying her best not to limp. Peppernose stepped out of the den and watched her, closely followed by the two apprentices. Shimmerpaw returned with a mouse and began gnawing on it, her fur bristling. Then Peppernose's asked, "So what did you do during training today?"

"Tree climbing," Shimmerpaw spat.

Peppernose asked. "What was Winterstorm thinking? Teaching you how to climb trees at your age! You're still a kit! Well no wonder you hurt yourself! You haven't full control of your fine motor skills yet!" By now she had finished most of her mouse. Peppernose reached forward and grabbed Shimmerpaw by the scruff and began carrying her to his den so her paws didn't even touch the ground.

Shimmerpaw let out a low growl as she tried to free herself from Peppernose's grasp. "Put me down! I'm not a kit." She tried to wiggle free again but pain shot from her paw through her body, and she stopped struggling by the time they reached the entrance to his den.

"You two can go back to your den now." Peppernose muttered through a mouthful of fur.

"No thanks. I'd rather stay and watch. Besides, Shimmerpaw wants me here cause she thinks you're an eat wounded kits and apprentices." Echopaw was padded right alongside Peppernose.

"I did not say that! That was Foxpaw. Heavystep told her that when she was a kit playing in the elder's den!" Shimmerpaw spat.  
Echopaw looked over she shoulder at her sister's wide eyes as they entered the den. Turning back towards Peppernose she mewed, "It's cool in here. The herbs smell good. What will you give Shimmerpaw? Will it taste gross? How long will the herbs last? How often do you have to collect herbs. Why do..."

As Echopaw was blabbing, Peppernose set Shimmerpaw down surprising gently. "Shut up!" he growled to Echopaw. And he spun around to go to get some herbs, leaving the three apprentices. He called over his shoulder, "And don't you dare move!" He returned a moment latter with some alder leaves.

"What are those? What do they do? Are they for her paw? Can I help? Please? Oh please?!"

"Don't you ever shut up? These are alder leaves, and they are going to heal her of course!" Alder leaves reduce swelling. "You can go back in the other den and get me three poppy seeds. They are small and black, towards the front on the left. Don't touch anything else. Or I'll have you to deal with as well." He turned to Shimmerpaw as Echopaw raced out. He began chewing on the leaves and then applied them to the injured paw. Echopaw, once returned, gazed on intently while Foxpaw shuffled in the corner and Shimmerpaw sulked miserably.

"Foxpaw, why don't you go tell Winterstorm and Blazingstar that Shimmerpaw has been injured and will be confined to camp for at least two sunrises." Foxpaw gladly dashed out. "Echopaw give Shimmerpaw those poppy seeds." Shimmerpaw licked them up.

"What do poppy seeds do? Do they -"

"They will take the pain away and make her sleep."

"Oh."

"Now Shimmerpaw." Peppernose pulled some moss over. "It's going to be awkward sleeping like this, but you need to keep your paw elevated from the rest of your body. So you are going to have to keep your paw up on this moss while you sleep. Got it?" Shimmerpaw nodded feebly.

"Why's that? That's gonna be soooo awkward!"

"Would you just shut up! You are never going to have to know these things unless you for some bizarre horrible reason become a medicine cat! Go back to your den so Shimmerpaw and I can get a good night rest. You can visit your friend in the morning."

Echopaw frowned. "No, I'm totally sleeping with her tonight. She needs company."

"She'll be fine."

"You would say that, kit-eater!"

"The better night sleep she gets the faster she's going to heal, you idiot! Go back to your den, or I'll drag you back!" And he showed her his teeth and let out a low growl.

She took a step back. "Fine!" and she ran off, meowing "kit-eater!" on the way out.

Something woke Peppernose in the night. He hadn't been asleep for very long. He tried to reposition herself when he heard some giggling. He angled his ears to Shimmerpaw and wasn't surprised to hear Echopaw's voice.

"Do you think he eats their eyeballs too?"

"I bet he likes the brain!"

He let out a little growl then stopped himself. Shimmerpaw would soon be knocked out anyway. He turned over and fell asleep quickly.

The four apprentices sat in a line in the middle of camp. It was a brisk morning but the whole clan was up and getting ready for the day's events. Shimmerpaw was digging her claws into the dirt in anticipation while Echopaw flicked her tail back and forth amused at how the dust flew up around it. Palepaw had his head down already accepting defeat. Foxpaw's eyes dashed back and forth as if she couldn't wait to get out of camp and start. Blazingstar appeared from behind his den and padded in front of the apprentices. "Greeting" He meowed warmly. "So you all know what today brings." The apprentices all nodded at his words and sat up a bit straighter. "You will start by catching a piece of prey and heading to the Rocky Hill. There will be a warrior there to meet you and you will give them the prey and go on to the next location. You will meet with three warriors before returning to camp and coming directly to me. The first two apprentices done will be free of cleaning the elder's den for the next quarter of a moon. Two warriors will also be trailing you as well to make sure no harm comes to you while you're out on you own. Remember that this is a solo event, so no group hunting." He let out a proud purr of the apprentices standing before him. Twitching the tip of his tail he signaled the competition start. "May the best apprentice win."

Shimmerpaw launched off and was the first through the tunnel with Echopaw hard on her paws. Foxpaw followed two paces behind with Palepaw bringing up the rear with a light jog. Once out of the tunnel Shimmerpaw turned right up the path while Echopaw leaped into a patch of brambles and started stalking through the bushes. Foxpaw started along the path but took a sharp left into the forest.

Mintyheart turned to Spiceheart, "Well I guess we better follow them. They're gonna ware our paws out by the end of this." He purred and started towards the tunnel.

Spiceheart followed him with a bounce to her step. These apprentices were lucky, having a fun exercise. Sunstone had been a harsh mentor. But Sunstone couldn't stop her from having fun now!

They found Palepaw having an argument with a bramble bush just outside of the tunnel, flailing his limbs. Mintyheart sighed as Spiceheart went on ahead, an amused smile playing on her face that Mintyheart couldn't miss. Once passed the troubled apprentice she tore off after the she-cats.  
Palepaw managed to untangle himself. And to Mintyheart's surprise, in Palepaw's claws was a mouse.

"When I ran into the bush, I guess I caught it?"

"Well done!" Mintyheart praised. "Get going then! You could be first!" Palepaw's overall appearance visibly changed. He straightened out his back and shoulders, raising himself to full height. Normally his spine hung between his shoulders, and Mintyheart was almost surprised by his height. Palepaw was even a bit taller than Shimmerpaw. With an almost fierce determined look plastered on his face, Palepaw raced off. He took a little tumble but continued on, his mouse in his jaws.  
Winterstorm gazed solemnly from Rocky Hill. His ears were pricked, listening for any sign of the apprentices. A ginger figure racing toward him. At first he thought it was Foxpaw, but then to his astonishment it was young Palepaw. He tried to hide his surprise as the tom approached him; he didn't want to be rude. Palepaw gazed expectantly at the senior warrior.

"Well done, Palepaw. Drop your prey down over there." Palepaw did so. "And the next place you need to go to is the Crossing Log. You need to catch another piece of prey before you reach there, however."

"Right!" And Palepaw tore off once again.

"It's the other way, Palepaw!" Winterstorm called off. Whoops. Wasn't supposed to help him. Palepaw changed directions.

"PALEPAW!" Echopaw screeched. "You scared my rabbit you dumb fur ball!" Palepaw ran even faster, worried that the she-cat would rip him apart for messing up her hunt.

The forest was still again as the last of the ferns stopped swaying behind Palepaw. "What was he thinking? Is he just blindly running through the forest with...wait what!? There was a mouse in his jaws..."

"Echopaw?" Foxpaw muttered around a scrawny vole. "Are you talking to yourself?"

"No." Echopaw replied sharply. "I'm talking to a Starclan cat. Can't you see it?" She cocked her head at Foxpaw.  
Foxpaw flicked her ears. She knew Echopaw was giving her a hard time but part of her didn't doubt that Echopaw would be able to see Starclan cats around them. "Well you better stop gossiping with them and get hunting. Your behind."

"I wasn't behind a moment ago. Stupidpaw ran right through my hunt." Echopaw hissed bitterly. "Besides, that half dead scrawny vole is nothing to be excited about." She mewed twitching her whiskers playfully.

"It counts though. A piece of prey is a piece of prey." Foxpaw meowed.

"I bet Heavystep would die of a heart attack if he heard you say that." Echopaw purred.

Up the path they saw Shimmerpaw carrying a thrush in her mouth. Foxpaw's eyes got wide and she dashed off.  
"Mousedung." Echopaw spat. _This is pathetic. Palepaw has a kill and I don't. I bet the dumb thing ran into his claws._

"Hello Winterstorm!" Shimmerpaw mewed excitedly. "Am I the first..." She saw the mouse at his paws. "Echopaw." She muttered under her breath.

Winterstorm smiled grimly at his apprentice. "Actually, it was your brother, Palepaw. To be honest, I thought you would be the first." There was disappointment in his gaze.

Shimmerpaw felt her pelt burn as well as her heart. She wasn't going to lose to Palepaw!

Winterstorm's gaze hardened. "You could still catch up." He winked at her. "Your next location is the Crossing Log. Remember to grasp the log firmly, but not too hard." Shimmerpaw nodded and raced off.

Echopaw padded soundlessly though the reeds along the stream. _No one will think to hunt along here_. She purred to herself. Crouching down she closed her eyes, letting her hearing be her strongest sense. Down the bank she heard a faint scuffling. _Silly water vole. _She opened her eyes and crept down to the edge of the bank. Opening her mouth she located the plump vole. _You're mine. _And with that she sprang, claws extended and landed directly on top of it, ending its life with a quick bite. Picking up her prey she raced towards the Crossing Log. As she approached she thought she heard voices.

"Palepaw, how many times have you crossed this log in your life!" Sunstone meowed irritated.

"A-a-a-a few ti-times." Palepaw stammered. He was crouched on the end of the log, frozen with fear as he gazed at the water passing by.

"Then just walk over it!" Sunstone hissed. "Stupid tom. I'm shocked as to how you even caught that thrush!"

"It it it was stuck in a bush. I-I-I th-think its wing was wound-wounded." Palepaw mewed mewed softly, still not moving a pawstep.

"What a worthless apprentice. Thank Starclan I'm not your mentor. You're a hopeless cause. Although Mintyheart is just encouraging your stupidity by treating you as if you were a kit. If I was your mentor I would have beating that personality out of you and then maybe one day you'd be a use to the clan." Sunstone growled from the other side of the log. Seeing Echopaw approaching she meowed, "See, this is why she-cats are better warriors then mindless cowardly toms."  
Echopaw flicked Palepaw sympthiticly one the shoulder as she nimbly glided across the log. Dropping the vole at her mentors paws.

"Well done Echopaw." Sunstone beamed at her apprentice. "You're in the lead, as you should be. You next location is the High Oak. Hunt quickly," She added. "Shimmerpaw is hot on your paws."

Looking over her shoulder she saw Shimmerpaw racing towards then with a small rabbit in her jaws. Turning quickly Echopaw disappeared and started searching for her next victim.

_Mousedung. _Shimmerpaw thought. _I'm sick of coming in behind my brother and now a younger_apprentice. Although she had to acknowledge that Echopaw was a very skilled apprentice. Not wanting to fall even more behind she pelted as fast as she could with a rabbit in her jaws towards the log.

Palepaw opened his eyes. He could do this. He had to. For his clan and for Minyheart. Slowly he reached out one paw. shifting his weight he let out a big sigh. _This isn't so bad. _He thought. _I can do this...I am doing this... _Just then he felt the log disappear from under his paws. He let out a yowl as he fell into the water and Shimmerpaw pelted over the log.

"Sorry Palepaw." she called down without stopping.

The ice cold water was all around. He flailed his paws in the water, splashing water everywhere. _This is it._ He thought. _I will join Starclan now because of this. _Looking up he let out one final cry for help.

"Oh Palepaw. Get a hold of yourself." Sunstone's mew cut though the splashing for a moment. "The waters only up to your belly. Now stand up and quit acting like a kittypet. I mean honestly. What a worthless hunk of fur."

As Palepaw continued to thrash in the water he felt something along his flank. Turning his head he saw that Mintyheart was at his flank.

"It's okay Palepaw. I'm here." Mintyheart soothed. "The water is only up to my belly fur. You should be able to stand in it." There was no hint of mocking in his mew.

"In Starclan's name Mintyheart! Why don't you make a warrior out of him. One soft dumb tom leading another." Sunstone mewed bitterly as she padded back to the other side of the log.

Mintyheart ignored the prickly she-cat. "Okay, now Palepaw, I want you to try to get your paws under you." The little tom tried and found the stream bed, digging his claws into it.

"Good!" Mintyheart praised. Now walk over to the bank, make sure you dig your claws in until you feel safe. Very good."

Palepaw scrambled up the bank, shook his felt then stared at the ground.

"What's wrong?" Mintyheart mewed as he shook his pelt.

"I...I...l-lo-lost my prey." Palepaw stammered.

"No you didn't. It right here." Mintyheart shoved the thrush at him. I dragged it out of the stream for you."

Palepaw's eyes lit up, "Thanks Min-Mintyheart!"

Mintyheart nodded. The apprentice looked across the bridge at the fuming she-cat.

"And Palepaw," Mintyheart mewed from behind him. "I'm proud of you." Twitching his tail, the silver tom disappeared among the reeds.

Shimmerpaw bounded after Echopaw, "Eat my dust!" and she passed the smaller cat. Echopaw let her friend pass. Once out of sight, Echopaw strained her senses and began the final hunt.

Tactfully, Shimmerpaw went at a steady jog until Bluefrost and High Oak were in sight. Then she saw a squirrel on High Oak, on one of the lower branches. She padded forward slowly.

Bluefrost noticed her and said, "Loose your prey?"

"No, I just found it." I think. She looked up the tree again, narrowing on the squirrel. Bluefrost followed her gaze. He looked back at the young apprentice. She was a bit young for tree climbing. But, he did know that Winterstorm took her tree climbing.

Shimmerpaw faltered, however. The memory of her fall haunted her. She heard a rustling behind her and she saw a brown and speckled black pelt among the brown ferns. Echopaw. Hardening her gaze and her heart, she leapt up the tree and scrambled up as quietly as she could. With fearless precision, she nipped the squirrel in the back of the neck. She threw the squirrel down a few tail lengths from Bluefrost.

"Show more respect towards your prey!" he barked at her. Shimmerpaw climbed down shakily but triumphantly, but also with her ears pulled back at Bluefrost's words. She saw Echopaw bounding towards them in the distance with a mouse in her mouth.

"Where do I have to go!?" she mewed impatiently.

He let out a low growl. "Back to camp. You don't have catch any prey. It's a rac—" but she tore off before he could finish, which resulted in a another louder growl.  
Echopaw skidded to a stop, dropped her mouse.

"You have to—"

"I know! I know! I heard!" Echopaw cut him off.

Mouse-brain apprentices. Don't know a thing about respect. Someone needs to teach it to them…

Shimmerpaw looked over her shoulder as she pelted through the forest, _Echopaw! _The smaller she-cat was only 10 fox lengths behind her. Although their ages were close the little bit of time gave Shimmerpaw a bit more speed and her slightly longer legs worked in her favor, as she extended her stride. _She won't have the endurance to beat me. _Shimmerpaw thought to herself. Echopaw also knew this. _I can't out run her, _the speckled cat thought _but I can outsmart her _and in a flash she disappeared in the undergrowth.

Shimmerpaw leaped onto a fallen log. She no longer heard paw steps behind her. Pausing for a second she looked back, there was no sign of Echopaw. _Did she quit already? _Shimmerpaw questioned. _That's not like her. _Shimmerpaw continued at a brisk jog, keeping her eyes peeled for any movement.

She padded along for some time before approaching a bend in the path. _ I'm almost to camp. _She purred to herself happily. As she padded along a movement up ahead caught her eye. Picking up her pace she saw something again. _It can't be...how could Echopaw have gotten ahead of her? _Without thinking she started pelting after Echopaw, who was now racing towards the camp's tunnel. Stretching out her stride as much as she could, she ate up the ground between her and the spotted she-cat. Echopaw let out a hiss as Shimmerpaw approached but it was still Echopaw who entered the tunnel first. Shimmerpaw was right on her tail and desperate to be the first into camp. The tunnel was tight but this would be her last chance. She gathered her back legs and lept.

Echopaw could feel the belly fur of her friend above her. She could easily stop Shimmerpaw if she simply arched her back or nipped her soft exposed belly. _But she's my friend, plus an older apprentice then me. She should have this victory. _Echopaw thought. Tucking her legs under her she gave Shimmerpaw more room to make a clean landing. The creamy and brown she-cat landed smoothly and emerged from the tunnel first, with Echopaw not even a paw step behind.

The two she-cats stood next to each other, sides heaving as their clan members called out their names. Blazingstar emerged from the group of cats and looked fondly at the two apprentices. He greeted the two cats with a slight nod of his head. "Well done. Congratulations Shimmerpaw. You are the first winner of the apprentice tournament."  
Shimmerpaw's eyes light up at her leader's praise. Blazingstar then turned to Echopaw. "And Echopaw, congratulations as well. You kept up with Shimmerpaw and seemed to give her some good competition. Forestclan is lucky to have two great warriors in the making. You both made your clan very proud today, and well fed, by the looks of the fresh kill pile." He blinked slowly at the two young she-cats and twitched his tail in pride. "Now, go bring each of your mentors a piece of prey and then grab something for yourselves. You've earned it."

The two apprentices padded side by side to the pile. Echopaw grabbed a vole for Sunstone while Shimmerpaw took Winterstorm a plump mouse. "Echopaw," Shimmerpaw mewed, "Would you like to share a rabbit with me once you bring that to Sunstone?"

"I'd love to." Echopaw purred back to her friend. Turning, she quickly padded over to her mentor. "Thank you for the vole Echopaw." Sunstone mewed to her apprentice. "You did well today. I'm very proud of you. You may not have won, this time, but you're younger then Shimmerpaw and you still were right on her tail the whole time. Now rest up, I'm sure that Blazingstar will be having us attend the Gathering with the Clan tonight."

Nodding Echopaw turned towards the clearing and padded over to the fresh kill pile again and grabbed a juicy looking rabbit. Dragging it to the side of the clearing, she sat down and started giving herself a quick grooming while she waited for Shimmerpaw.

Foxpaw trotted in a few moments later, looking a bit angry and flustered. Spiceheart came in bouncing after her. "It's okay, Foxpaw! You will do better next time! It's not your fault that you tripped and tore a claw," she mewed sympathetically. She turned toward the medicine cat's den. "PEPPERNOSE!" she yowled, making everyone in the vicinity look in her direction. "Come on, Foxpaw," she urged her apprentice, lightly flicking her tail over Foxpaw's head. "Let's get you fixed up and then we'll eat something nice!" Then mentor and apprentice padded off to Peppernose.

Palepaw came in last, quite a while later. He was covered in dirt and his tail was dragging on the ground. Mintyheart was at his side while Bluefrost trailed behind.

"What happ-" started Blazingstar.

"Don't ask," Mintyheart murmured with a slight tinge of amusement in his mew.

"I'll tell you what happened," Bluefrost started. "That little apprentice rushed into a fallen hollow tree. Turns out there was a lot of dust in it and he had a sneezing fit. And he lost the mouse too!"

Palepaw looked bleakly up at the deputy before padded away.

"You didn't have to say it like that!" Mintyheart challenged Bluefrost.

"Hmmm. I hope you're training him well. He looks like he'll need beefing up as well as some hard training." Bluefrost commented. Blazingstar made a sympathetic face to Mintyheart behind Bluefrost's line of vision.

"I'll do my best, Bluefr-"

"MINTYHEART! Where HAVE you been!?" screeched Maplefur, standing on the threshold of the nursery.

Mintyheart flicked his tail toward Blazingstar and Bluefrost, excusing himself.

"I've been on the apprentice training exercise, Maplefur."

"But. But. Why?"

"Because... I'm supposed to?"

"But you're supposed to be here with me! You are the father of my kits after all!"

"Of course I am! How are they today?" he said conversationally.

Maplefur sniffed. Toms were so clueless. "Mommy was okay today, thanks."

Mintyheart paused. Mommy? "I thought I." She's so clueless sometimes. "That's great!"

"Will you come into the nursery? I want to show you the nest I made for my kits." He followed her in and was shocked at what he saw. Usually the nursery had a bare floor with scattered nests. But Maplefur had transformed the nursery into one big nest. "I know it's a bit big, but I'll need all that space since I'm having eight kits."

"I told you, Maplefur. You aren't going to have eight kits." Peppernose stepped in the nursery, carrying a few herbs. Mintyheart's eyes widened. Those herbs were for Maplefur!

"Yeah, whatever." Maplefur sniffed.

"Wait, wait, wait. What? How many kits?"

Peppernose glanced in Mintyheart's direction. His face held many different emotions. There was some fear and alarm, but also excitement and joy.

"I don't know. I can never tell exactly. I can get a rough estimate about a half of a moon before the birthing. But she's not going to have eight, that's for sure."

"And you know that she's for sure expecting?" Mintyheart mewed uncertainly. Maplefur didn't hear this comment because she was giggling with some feathers.

"I'm pretty sure. It would be around a moon, no?" When Mintyheart didn't answer, he continued. "Although I cannot feel the kits yet, there are some signs. She has gained weight. Although that's partially due because she just eats all day and sits around. And secondly, she's beginning to smell like an expecting queen. Although at first I thought she was having a fake pregnancy, which would have all of the same symptoms, usually the pretense wears off sooner than this. At least it did last time she thought she was pregnant." He paused. "And the time before that." He glanced at Mintyheart again and shrugged. "Maplefur," he called to the delusional queen. "These are strengthening herbs." And he flicked his tail and left the den.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello there viewer! If there actually are viewers. So I thought I should clarify a few things about the characters and plot. This story is co-written, so a lot of the information is discussed by never put into the story. For example, did you know Blazingstar and Adderfang are littermates? Same with Bluefrost and Peppernose. Peppernose was a warrior before he became a medicine cat. Winterstorm is not the father of Echopaw and Foxpaw (there father was Birchstripe, I believe; and he died in battle a few moons before they were born). Palepaw and Shimmerpaw are siblings. And Maplefur has a genetic disorder that makes her mentally unstable that was caused from inbreeding. That's why everyone kind of freaked out when she said she was going to have kits, but her kits will be fine. Erm… what else? I don't know. Just ask if something doesn't make sense.

The sun was hovering over the tree tops and the cats of Forestclan were in a state of tense relaxation. The Gathering was tonight, and things were still tense between them and the other clans, mostly Shadeclan. There were still signs that Shadeclan warriors were crossing the border but none of the patrols had caught any warriors. Mintyheart was sharing a squirrel with Maplefur who was mewing on about something, but he didn't seem to be listening very well, there was a shimmer of anticipation in his eyes. Foxpaw, Shimmerpaw, and Echopaw were in a circle all sharing tongues while Palepaw looked on nervously, as if all three she-cats might leap at him. Blazingstar was making small talk with both Spiceheart and Winterstorm, while Sunstone mewed to Adderfang about how well Echopaw did in the apprentice tournament earlier that day. The camp's tunnel shook and Icecloud padded in at a brisk pace with a mouse and two birds in his jaws. He dropped them near the fresh kill pile and headed right to Blazingstar. Seeing this odd behavior from across the camp Bluefrost slowed padded over.

"Blazingstar," Icecloud gave a nod to his leader and the two cats he was with, " I need to speak with you right away."

Blazingstar ducked his head to Spiceheart and Winterstorm and padded a few passes away with Icecloud. "What's wrong?" He mewed worriedly.

"Shadeclan has moved the border."

"What?" Blazingstar looked confused at his once mentor.

"They moved it into our territory about 20 fox lengths." Icecloud stated flatly.

At this, Blazingstar let out a loud hiss that made the whole camp still. No cat moved but all exchanged worried glances. "I'm sick of this." Blazingstar mewed grimly. "We can't lose that land, nor will we."

"It's too late to react right now, we have the Gathering tonight." Bluefrost mewed from behind Blazingstar.

"I know. And we can't fight there either but I assure you that pelts will be raised. Miststar will not go unconfronted." Both warriors nodded. "Bluefrost, make sure we have a fit group with us tonight. Just in case something happens. The Warrior Code is not as respected as it once was."

"But my claw is fine now!" Foxpaw begged as she looked up at Spiceheart. "I want to go to the Gathering SO bad!"

Spiceheart's eyes were soft as she looked at her apprentice. "I know. But if you go tonight you'll be stuck in camp all day tomorrow because your paw will be sore."

Foxpaw looked down. She wanted to go to her first Gathering with her sister. Echopaw laid her tail over her shoulder trying to comfort her. Mintyheart padded up next to Spiceheart unnoticed, flicking her with his tail on her other side so she that she'd look the wrong way. Purring at the flash of confusion in her eyes he mewed, "Cheer up Foxpaw. You can stay here and keep Palepaw company. Maybe you can teach him some of the battle moves Spiceheart has taught you." Palepaw's eyes grew wide and he looked helplessly at Mintyheart.

"Oh Palepaw, you'll be fine. It's good for you. Besides, you can learn some good blocking moves this way." He flicked his tail over the little apprentice's head. "Come on Spiceheart," He mewed. "I think Blazingstar's getting ready to go." There was a little bounce in his step as he padded to the clearing.

"Excited about something?" Spiceheart mewed casually.

"Oh...ummm...well...not really. I mean this should be an eventful Gathering." He tried to mew coolly. _Plus I get to see Featherstep. _He purred to himself.

Blazingstar looked over the cats in the clearing. _Bluefrost, _ _Mintyheart, Winterstorm, Spiceheart, Sunstone, Icecloud_, _Echopaw, Shimmerpaw, and Peppernose. Good they're all here. _Maplefur, Skypool, Adderfang, Palepaw and Foxpaw were all sitting near their dens. Foxpaw had a longing in her eyes while Maplefur looked extremely worried that Mintyheart may never return to her and her 10 unborn kits. With a flick of his tail, Blazingstar lead the cats towards Four Oaks.

Once they arrived Blazingstar headed right for the other leaders with Bluefrost hard on his paws. The only clan that was already there was Meadowclan. Peppernose slowly made his way towards the other medicine cat but he didn't looked pleased to be forced to make small talk. Most of the other warriors sat together, with Echopaw and Shimmerpaw venturing a few passes away to talk to another Meadowclan apprentice that Shimmerpaw met last Gathering. Mintyheart scanned the clearing very carefully. A movement on the far side caught his eye. Featherstep's eyes bore into him, and then turning the lanky brown tom disappeared in a clump of ferns. Mintyheart stood still for a few moments, forgetting how to make his paws work.

"Mintyheart?" Spiceheart's mew broke his trance. "Are you okay?"

Shaking his head to clear it, he nodded to the she-cat. "Oh yeah. I'm fine. But I'll be right back. Save me a spot, if you can." He mewed to her as he padded off.

_I wonder where he's going?_ Spiceheart thought to herself. She looked after him but then lost his as he wove his way through the other cats.

"Hey! Shimmerpaw! Do you remember me?" called a white she-cat with brown paws.

"Of course I do, Whitepaw!" and Shimmerpaw bounded up to her and touched her nose.

"Whose your friend?"

"This is Echopaw. Echopaw this is Whitepaw. From MeadowClan. I met her at the last Gathering. Echopaw just became an apprentice." Shimmerpaw babbled to Whitepaw as the newly introduced she-cats nodded to each other.

"Where's your brother?"

"Palepaw? At camp. With Foxpaw, Echopaw's sister. I haven't met any other apprentices from MeadowClan..."

Whitepaw sighed. "That's because there aren't any."

"You mean, any warrior apprentices!" mewed a bossy voice from behind them. A molted gray and brown she-cat walked up to them. "I'm Pheasantpaw, the MeadowClan medicine cat apprentice."

"Oh cool!" remarked Echopaw.

" And you are?" she said this all with a superior voice.

"I'm Echopaw!"

"Shimmerpaw."

"You look old to be an apprentice," observed Echopaw.

"Well, we medicine cats have to train for a long time. We have much more to learn than you warriors." Shimmerpaw frowned while Echopaw's eyes were interested. "I'm going to go find Shellpaw, who is the MarshClan medicine cat apprentice."

"Is all well in ForestClan?" asked Featherstep tentatively.

Mintyheart's heart felt like it was in his throat, and all that came out was a rough gurgle.

Featherstep's eyes lit up. "Oh! I didn't know you spoke in frog too!" he mewed. And he made some gurgling noises that were more... perfected than Mintyheart's. A strange, bewildered look appeared on Mintyheart's face. This tom...

Sitting down Mintyheart shook his head lightly to clear it. There was something about this tom that made him lose control of mind. Looking down he mewed without thinking, something that he found he did a lot around Featherstep. "Tensions are high in Forestclan." Featherstep cocked his head as Mintyheart continued. "We've been having a lot of problems with Shadeclan. After last moons Gathering we and a fight at the border. It went well and we sent those flea bags back where they belong. But they still continued creeping across our boarder and stealing prey. And before we came to the Gathering tonight, Icecloud found that they moved the border back into our territory." Suddenly realizing how much he just told to a member of another clan he looked up, only to find worry and concern in Featherstep's eyes.

Featherstep's tail brushed Mintyheart's side. "What's Blazingstar going to do?" He mewed.

"It depends on how tonight goes. I doubt that Miststar will go unchallenged." Mintyheart mewed with a glisten in his eyes as he dug his claws into the earth.

As Mintyheart's body tensed at the thought of battle, Featherstep admired the silver tom's sleek coat and well defined muscles. _They just don't make 'um like that in Meadowclan, _He thought to himself.

Just then a yowl cut thought the night air and the cats began to collect around the clearing for the start of the Gathering. Mintyheart turned to Featherstep, "I don't just want to meet at Gatherings. A moon is a long time to wait to see you." Featherstep padded out of their hiding place but as he left, he let his tail run along Mintyheart's face. Purring to himself Featherstep jogged back to the Meadowclan cats.

_Why did I say that. _Mintyheart thought to himself. _I'm a Forestclan cat, I can't be seen meeting with a Meadowclan tom. _Padding into the clearing he bounded over to Spiceheart.

"Thanks for saving me a spot."

"You're welcome." Spiceheart mewed. "Where did you go?"

"Umm...no where. Just on the other side on the clearing to talk with Ravenstone of Meadowclan. Did you hear any good gossip?"

Miststar padded forward. "Greetings. All is well in Shadeclan. We have plenty of prey and our clan goes bigger and stronger by the day." Stepping back she looked at the other leaders. Marsh and Meadowclan's leaders looked on edge but that was mostly because of the low growl that came from Blazingstar, as he looked at Miststar with fiery eyes. Standing and padded forward he held Miststar's eyes. She looked at him as if nothing was wrong.

"How dare you move the border back!" He hissed, tail lashing. "Aren't you going to even try to defend your actions or are you even aware of them?" He mewed fiercely, glaring at the Shadeclan deputy, who most knew made a lot of the clan's decisions.

The warriors of Shadeclan and Forestclan glared at each other. Echopaw let out a hiss and there was a low growl coming from Sunstone. Bluefrost pelt rose and Peppernose looked up at the moon, which was clear, but there were a few clouds in the sky.

"How stupid are you?" spat Miststar. "ShadeClan has many more warriors than ForestClan. We have more kits too! Therefore ForestClan should offer up some territory for ShadeClan. Patchstar would have understood!" she complained.

Blazingstar gaped at Miststar in shock while Bluefrost below hissed, "Fool!"

Snarling, Blazingstar said, "If you think you can take our territory without any resistance you've got - "

"Stop! Stop it! Right now!" shrieked Tangleberry, the ShadeClan medicine cat. "Look! StarClan is angry!"

Every single cat looked up at the moon, which was now partially obscured by clouds.

"Ha! See! Even StarClan agrees with me!" gurgled Miststar. With that she jumped down from the rock, flicked her tail in signal for her clan to leave.

"Guess this means the Gathering's over," murmured Heronstar. He and Heatherstar followed Miststar. Blazingstar paused a moment, still sizzling with anger, before being the last to jump down to earth.

"Blazingstar," Bluefrost mewed following the black and white tom. The cats of Forestclan gather to their leader while shooting glares at the warriors in Shadeclan. Echopaw sat, looking up at the moon, softly she whispered, "How does Tangleberry know Starclan is mad? The moon isn't covered. Just slightly, as in a warning. And why is the warning to us? Why isn't the message that Shadeclan is being unjust and Starclan is upset with then?" Peppernose looked at the little apprentice with squinted eyes, till Sunstone padded up and flicked Echopaw with her tail.

"If it was raining you'd drown." Mewed the she-cat harshly. Echopaw just shook her head and padded up to Shimmerpaw who seemed to be looking for Winterstorm.

Mintyheart stood locked in a glare with a Shadeclan warrior, till he felt another cats eyes on him. He looked back at Blazingstar, who was gathering the clan and preparing to leave. But still he felt the gaze. Looking to his right he spotted Featherstep, his green eyes locked on him, unblinking. Featherstep's eyes betrayed him, he was worried. He didn't look like the smooth cat who flicked him over the head only minutes ago. Mintyheart curled his tail and twitched his whiskers. _I'm alright. _He thought to Featherstep. _Don't worry about me. _But the worry didn't leave the brown tom's eyes. Turning, Mintyheart followed his leader back towards camp.

Blazingstar set a brisk pace back to the camp. All the cats traveled close together, knowing that once they arrived at camp there would be a meeting of sorts.

As the cats padded into camp tensions were still high and all pelts raised. "Peppernose." Blazingstar's voice was harsh, but the anger wasn't directed towards his clanmates. "I want to speak with you in your den, alone. Bluefrost," he mewed coolly to his deputy, "Round up Icecloud, Winterstorm, Skypool, and Mintyheart. I will meet you outside of camp with Peppernose in a moment." And with that he padded with Peppernose into the medicine cat den.

Blazingstar stood, facing his medicine cat. "Did you get any sign from Starclan at the gathering showing their anger with us?" He looked desperately at Peppernose. "Anything at all? I know there were clouds in the sky, but was that a direct message to us or a warning to every cat, to not fight given the truce?"

Maplefur squeezed herself out of the nursery, and padded towards Mintyheart and Spiceheart.

"Are you injured?" Maplefur mewed, worried.

"Yes. He has been mortally wounded at a gathering." Spiceheart purred sarcastically.

Maplefur shot her a glare as the little she-cat padded off. "I don't like her." Maplefur mewed jealously. "I think she's a bad influence on you. Besides you're MY mate. You shouldn't be talking to other she-cats!" She growled.

Mintyheart looked at her for a moment trying to think of what to tell this overly protective she-cat. _"Well, you see Maplefur, you don't have to worry about me fawning after Spiceheart. We're just getting to know each other and I like her spirit, but the only connection we have is in friendship. What you really should worry about is this hansom little brown tom with glowing green eyes in Meadowclan. The cat who makes my head all fuzzy, speaks in riddles, and taunts me with a flick of his tail_. He purred to himself, _Yeah, I'm sure that's go over well. _

Mintyheart brushed his tail along her side, flicking it back he looked at her side intently. "Did something move?" He mewed shocked.

"Yes silly," she purred, all her anger gone at the thought of her kits. "Our kits are in there."  
Mintyheart batted his eyes nervously. _She really is with kits. _He thought to himself. She rubbed her head on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll make a good dad, but I'll be a better mom. After all, all my little she-kits will adore me!" Mintyheart didn't hear a thing she said till he felt her nose him hard on the side. "I SAID what happened at the gathering? Every cat looks tense. My kits are getting worried. Oh NO! Mintyheart! There can't be a battle! You'll die! My kits will be fatherless! Shadeclan will murder my babies in front of me!" She screeched, diving into the nursery. Mintyheart turned after her only to hear Bluefrost call his name.

Turning to his deputy he mewed, "I'll be right there. Just got to do once thing quick" Bluefrost lashed his tail unsympathetically. "Hurry up."

Mintyheart entered the dark nursery and crept up beside Maplefur. Resting his head on her side he slowly licked the side of her belly. She stopped whimpering and began to purr, nodding of to sleep. Although he didn't feel anymore movement in her belly, he couldn't help but think about the unborn kits inside of her and that this time she wasn't faking it. _I'm going to be having kits. _Once he was sure that she was asleep, he padded out to join up with Bluefrost.

"I don't think so," answered Peppernose to Blazingstar's earlier question. "I think it might have meant that conflict is coming, or is at our den." Blazingstar nodded in agreement. When all the chosen cats were assembled he led them into the woods.

The seven warriors rested under some ferns near a fallen tree. Six were looking at the seventh.

"I want to invade ShadeClan and give them a few scars they won't forget in a hurry." This was followed by a moment's silence.

"I thought we agreed that that was a bad idea." Icecloud was the first to speak.

"They have many more warriors then us!" chimed in Winterstorm.

"Foxpaw and Echopaw are too young to be in battle! Same for Shimmerpaw and Palepaw!" protested Skypool.

"I don't think it's wise to engage in a battle so soon to leaf-bare. Infections will develop more quickly and stronger," advised Peppernose.

Blazingstar flicked his tail for silence. "Firstly, I never agreed that it was a bad idea. You, Icecloud, and Bluefrost and Peppernose agreed that it was a bad idea. As for their warrior count: numbers do not win a battle! And I agree that the apprentices are too young to be in combat _alone. _That's why they will use the buddy system. And one of them can be helping Peppernose with supplies. As for leaf-bare, are we so cowardly that we are going to let the weather dictate whether we fight or not?!" the last question ended in a growl.

Back in camp Sunstone was now just stepping out from the dirtplace. The apprentices were playing a version of kit moss-ball, except that Palepaw was the moss. Spiceheart was grooming herself, Adderfang was nearby. Sunstone walked up to her.

"Where is everybody?"

"Oh. I think they went out to talk about something. Maybe a battle!"

Sunstone frowned. "And they left me behind! Did Mintyheart go? I'm older than he is! How dare Blazingstar leave me out!" her fur fluffed out as she yelled at Spiceheart. Neither she-cat noticed Adderfang scowling behind them.

"I'm sure Blazingstar had his reasons... and besides, I'm sure we'll hear about it when they get back," she meowed sympathetically.

"That's not the point you mouse-brain!"

As Echopaw sat on Palepaw head he made sniveling noises under her. "Shimmerpaw, Foxpaw, come her." The two she-cats padded up to Echopaw. "I want to hear what they are talking about. Let's sneak out and listen in." The other two nodded and the she-cats padded towards the tunnel.

"Wait" Foxpaw mewed looking back and the lump of fur behind them. "What about him? He knows what we're doing and if he tells we won't be able to fight in the battle"

Echopaw and Shimmerpaw nodded. Shimmerpaw padded back and bit the tom's tail, "Come on mouse-brain. You're coming with us. And be quiet!" The four apprentices disappeared out of the camp, but not before Spiceheart saw Palepaw's tail dragging in the dirt as he entered the tunnel. She slowly crept after them and left Sunstone who was still mewing to herself about how she has more battle knowledge.

"What are you four doing?" Spiceheart hissed softly. Looking up she saw the gathered cats.

Blazingstar met each of his warrior's eyes. "What would you rather me do? Sit here and watch as our territory is taken piece by piece? Wait till the battle is in our camp and our kits are the ones huddled in the nursery? No...we take the battle to them. Show them we aren't just going to get batted around like prey. We will sneak into their camp, fight, and win. We may lack numbers but we make up for that in heart. We won't lose this battle because we don't know how. This clan doesn't know how to give up or how to get pushed around; I think our past proves that. I have faith in all of my warriors and I know they won't ever disappoint because failure is not our blood. I will not force any cat to fight, but tomorrow night, I will be at the Shadeclan camp."

Fear then determination flashed in Mintyheart's eyes as he thought of what the future might look like for his unborn kits. "I'll be at your side." He mewed to his friend.

"As will I," came a soft but strong mew from the ferns. All the cats turned as Spiceheart padded forward.

"I would follow you into the darkest, most evil place. You weren't chosen to lead this clan by support of your warriors. You were chosen to lead us, as warriors, and into battle, by StarClan. I will never forget the sign that StarClan gave us," continued Spiceheart.

"Only the stars that have the courage to blaze the brightest can penetrate the night," whispered Peppernose softly as he remembered the sign. Everyone heard him.

"Spiceheart is right." Icecloud mewed. "You are our leader and as one of your warriors, I will follow your lead." Although he swore his allegiance, Blazingstar could still see the doubt in his old mentor's eyes.

Worry flashed across Skypool's face. "I trust you. Just Blazingstar, promise me my kits will be okay." Blazingstar nodded, although both cats knew that a promise like that was more for comfort then reality.

Bluefrost's eyes met Blazingstar's, "When do we strike?"

Blazingstar sat, twitching his tail for Spiceheart to join the discussion. Surprise fluttered in her eyes, she was so young to take part in meetings planning the clan's fate. Taking her place next to Mintyheart, who nodded and twitched his whiskers welcoming to her, she couldn't help but purr to herself, _If only Sunstone could see this. She'd be fluffed up the size of a fox, hissing and spitting about injustice and worthless toms. _

Looking up at the stars Blazingstar mewed, "Not tomorrow night but the next night."

Nodding Bluefrost agreed. "We will have surprise on our side then. They will be expecting us to react at sunrise or at least during the day. They will think they've won and will be over confident and weak in their false bliss." He dug his claws into the earth as if he was already ranking the Shadeclan cats.

"The extra day will also give us a chance to better ready our apprentices. We can train during the day and go over crucial moves without them being worn out for the fight the next night." Mintyheart mewed, both Spiceheart and Winterstorm nodded in agreement.

"Bluefrost," Blazingstar dropped his eyes from the stars, "I'd like you to make sure our warriors are fit as well. We will be fighting on their territory and won't have the ground cover we're used to. Every cat should be reminded of this and be told to work on their stalking skills. Peppernose, tomorrow collect whatever you will need and get a pack of herbs to take with us. Take Echopaw with you, I want the clan to be well stocked and ready to deal with injuries. She will also help you during the fight with injuries." Turning to the other cats he added, "We also need to decide who will stay behind and watch the camp."

"We need every warrior we have with us." Icecloud mewed coolly.

"Agreed," Mintyheart mewed, "But we can't leave the camp unprotected."

"Why don't we leave one warrior here," Spiceheart mewed. She was suddenly aware of every eye on her, but she continued, "Heavystep isn't that old for an elder, so I bet he can help. Also Maplefur will be here and with another warrior I'm sure they will be fine. There would be only four cats in camp, including the warrior..." Her confidence started to fade as no cat spoke.

"I agree." Mintyheart mewed encouragingly. "Besides, they won't be alone, like Spiceheart said. To be honest I pity the cat who walks in this camp. Maplefur will tear their pelt off if they even look in the direction of the nursery. To be even more honest, I think if she wasn't so dead set on not leaving camp we could send her in to the Shadeclan camp alone and she'd walk out, without a scratch; as long as you tell her that Shadeclan is plotting to steal her kits."

All the cats in the circle were purring to themselves as they pictured the queen, eyes wide tarring apart the Shadeclan camp, even Bluefrost twitched his whiskers.

Once the mews died down Blazingstar meowed, "I think you're right, one cat will be fine in the camp. Spiceheart, I'd like to have you stay and guard the camp."

Spiceheart nodded gratefully to Blazingstar. She really wanted to be in the fight but it was a great honor to be singled out by the clan leader and asked to carry the responsibility of guarding camp...alone.

"I think we should split the rest of the warriors into two groups. That way we can attack on both sides. Surprise is our only chance of winning this. They will have a guard just outside the camp. I want to get them out of the way quickly and quietly, so we don't alert the rest of the camp. Mintyheart, I want this to be your job because you're are sleek, can blend in, and know how to keep a cat quiet." The two tom's eyes were locked and every cat could tell that a memory was being shared.

"After Mintyheart has rid us of the guard, I'll lead the first group in." Blazingstar mewed, "We will slip in and take up positions within their camp, hiding in shadows and waiting to attack. The cats in this group will have to be sleek, silent, and able to blend in and stay hidden in the shadows. The second group, will be brute strength, led by Bluefrost. They will charge in and start the battle, drawing the Shadeclan cats towards them. The first group will emerge and then the battle will be in full swing. It will seem like their warriors are emerging from the shadows and attacking them."

He looked up, Bluefrost was deep in thought, "Yes, that will work wonderfully." He mewed. Although, we will need Winterstorm to roll in some mud before we go anywhere."

The white tom nodded, and then added, "We all may want to roll around a bit. It will help to hide our scent."

"How are we splitting up the clan?" Icecloud asked curiously.

"Bluefrost should have Winterstorm and Icecloud for sure." Skypool mewed.

"Agreed," Blazingstar mewed. He can also take Sunstone and Shimmerpaw. Peppernose and Echopaw will go with them as well, but when they charge in, you two stay behind and enter a few minutes later. Get an area set up both inside and outside of their camp." Peppernose nodded. "I'll take Adderfang, Skypool, Mintyheart, Palepaw, and Foxpaw with me. We will have a full day tomorrow. Everyone get some rest." The cats nodded to each other as they padded off. "Bluefrost," Blazingstar called. "Don't worry too much about patrols tomorrow. Just get the fresh kill pile stocked and make sure each cat is ready and knows the plan."

Bluefrost nodded, "Aren't you going to your den?"

Blazingstar shook his head. "My head is still whirling; I doubt I'll be able to sleep." Bluefrost sat at his side. Bluefrost was never the best cat with words but just his presence seemed to have a calming effect on him.


	6. Chapter 6

This is a really long chapter, but I couldn't really break it up anywhere… So enjoy a nine-thousand long chapter!

When Mintyheart woke, the sun was just starting to poke up from the horizon. _I need a good run. _The silver and black tom thought. He was just about to step out of the warriors den when he heard a soft whisper. "Where are you going?" Turning back he saw Spiceheart's eyes glowing in the dark den. "Just out for a run. Maybe grab a mouse. Do you want to meet me in the training hollow with Palepaw and Foxpaw?"

"Sure. I'll be there when the sun touches the tops of the trees." She mewed and rested her chin back on her nest.

Mintyheart's paws kicked up leaves as he raced out of camp. Remembering what Blazingstar said last night he avoided the border with Shadeclan and ran to the stream that bordered his territory and Meadowclan's. Slowing down to a jog he continued up stream. After some time he halted and decided to work on making his paws as silent a possible. After a few passes he was sure he was doing fine. _I know I'll be on soft pine needles in Shadeclan's territory _He thought, _but I want to be prepared. _Gathering a bunch of leaves into a pile he began padding across them. A few times the leaves would slightly rustle and he's let out a hiss, but even these little rustles wouldn't alert a mouse.

The sun was almost at the tree line, and after a few noiseless passes he was about to head to the training hollow but he heard a sound from the pebbles near the stream. Looking across he saw the slender body of Featherstep making his way across a fallen log. Featherstep padded across but stopped at the edge of the log, "Can I place a paw on Forestclan territory or will I get my pelt torn off?" He purred.

Mintyheart tasted the air, no other cats nearby. He still felt on edge but nodded and padded toward the brown tom. There was still worry in his eyes. "Mintyheart," he mewed "I need to talk to you."

"I know," was all Mintyheart said. Yet neither of them spoke. Mintyheart couldn't put into words what emotions and feelings were telling him as they swirled around in his chest. Eventually Featherstep hopped across the small stream and sat next to Mintyheart. Their pelts occasionally brushing they watched the last of the sun rise.

"So you go into battle soon?" piped Featherstep.

"Yes," replied Mintyheart, not wanting to look at the tom beside him.

"Oh. Well, be sure to eat those fox-hearts up!" and he butted his head against Mintyheart, knocking him over.

"Hey!" Mintyheart purred. And he sprung at Featherstep and the two of them wrestled for a bit.

Back at camp, Blazingstar was sharing tongues with Spiceheart. "So, Mintyheart and I are going to take Palepaw and Foxpaw training. Do you want to come?" she squeaked. Blazingstar looked up from his vole, whiskers twitching. He wasn't the only one that found the way Spiceheart talked sometimes amusing. "Sure. I'd like to see how they are coming. Bluefrost!" he called to his deputy. "Could you go out with Winterstorm, Sunstone, Echopaw, and Shimmerpaw and see how they are shaping up. I'm going with the other apprentices and their mentors." Bluefrost nodded his head.

"Great! I'll go wake Foxpaw! I'm sure she'll be excited!" and Spiceheart bounced off.  
_But not as excited as you...,_ thought Blazingstar.

Mintyheart padded quickly into camp. _I can't do this anymore _He thought to himself. _I've been sneaking out of camp to meet another warrior, and a tom. It's not right. _Guilt made his stomach turn. _But I enjoy his company...no. It doesn't matter. What I feel doesn't matter, only my loyalty to my clan matters. _He knew he'd have to stop seeing Featherstep soon, but didn't know what to tell the cat. He'd done nothing wrong, but be born in the wrong clan...and as a tom. _But it doesn't matter. It will never work, ever. I just need to get over it. _He shook his head as he padded along. _Yes, I'll tell him after the battle. _

_"_Where have you been?" Spiceheart called cheerfully as Mintyheart entered the camp.

_"_Out for a run. Are we going to take the apprentices out?"

_"_Yes! And Blazingstar is coming with us." She squeaked. "I was just going to get Foxpaw. I'll wake up Palepaw for you while I'm there!"

Blazingstar turned to Mintyheart, "Is everything okay?" He meowed worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine." Mintyheart lied.

"Okay." Although Mintyheart knew this wasn't the end of his friends questioning. They'd known each other to long to keep secrets for too long.

The five cats padded through the forest, Mintyheart was in the lead with Blazingstar bringing up the rear. He turned sharply from the Meadowclan boarder and started heading in the direction of Shadeclan. "I thought we'd head to that open patch up ahead." Blazingstar nodded.

"What are going to be doing today?" Foxpaw mewed excitedly.

"Battle training," Spiceheart mewed coolly.

"Is there going to a battle soon?" The ginger she-cat mewed.

"Shadeclan is going to attack our camp, aren't they?" Palepaw meowed hopelessly as his eyes grew wide.

"Never. We are going to attack their camp in the dead of night and show those flea-bags what we're made of." Mintyheart growled.

Palepaw looked disbelieving at his mentor and quickly turned to Blazingstar to see if he'd repairman Mintyheart for his crazy ideas, but no comfort was found. "We attack tonight. I want to make sure you both are ready."

"I'm ready!" Foxpaw mewed and jumped to her feet. Her fur was fluffed out and she looked twice her size. Without warning Spiceheart leapt at Foxpaw knocking her to the ground, but Foxpaw quickly wiggled out of her mentor's paws and through her long legs. The two she-cats kept at this as Blazingstar watched them. Both were conscious of his gleaming stare.

Mintyheart padded softly over to Palepaw. "Do you want me to try to attack you?" The slouched over tom meowed timidly.

"No," Mintyheart purred, "I'm going to attack you!" And with that he lightly sprung at his apprentice, landing square on his shoulders. "Palepaw," Mintyheart mewed gently, "You are suppose to at least try to get away." Palepaw looked up at his mentor. Mintyheart sighed, "Palepaw, I've seen you avoid your sisters when they attack you, just do that."

Palepaw looked down, "Yea, but they don't have their claws sheathed...and you're my mentor, so you won't really hurt me..."

Mintyheart cocked his head to one side, "Oh I won't will I?"

Mintyheart lunged at the pale tom, whose eyes were twice their normal size, but his claws landed in the soft dirt below. Spinning he tried again, but Palepaw slipped out of reach. Faking right, he jumped left, but Palepaw quickly switched his direction and Mintyheart just grazed his whiskers.

"See! I knew you had it in you!" Mintyheart praised as he rose on his back feet at the little tom, who waited a moment till Mintyheart was dropping down, to spring to the right, away from his mentors swinging claws. Mintyheart turned his back to Palepaw and sprung in the air, twisting at the last moment to land on Palepaw's back, knocking him to the ground and causing the air to leave his lungs. "Palepaw, you're doing wonderfully!" He mewed as he helped Palepaw to his paws. Palepaw's eyes sparkled as Mintyheart praised him.

"You did do a great job." Blazingstar's mew rang out from the side of the clearing. "Mintyheart was really trying to get you but you stayed just out of his paw reach."

Palepaw beamed at his leader's praise. "Mintyheart." He mewed confidently, "How would I avoid at cat who jumped on me like you just did?"

Mintyheart looked over at Blazingstar and the two toms let out a little purr. "We'll show you."

Blazingstar mewed to his friend. "After all, you and I invented that move. I'll attack you, okay Mintyheart?" Blazingstar turned his back and leapt into the air, spinning and landing on Mintyheart's back. But just before he did, Mintyheart crouched down and as soon as he felt Blazingstar's paws, push up against the ground, sending his leader back into the air, belly exposed and paws flailing.

"Wow!" Foxpaw mewed from across the clearing. Mintyheart padded over and nudged Blazingstar as he got to his paws. "Nice job, now I'll try it with..." Blazingstar's meow stopped abruptly as the loud screech of a thrush rang through the forest, then was cut off.

Spiceheart turned to the two toms, "That's not normal..."

"I'll go check it out Blazingstar," Mintyheart offered, "if you want to teach Spiceheart and Foxpaw that move and run through it with Palepaw. It will give me a chance to work on my stalking skills for tonight." Blazingstar nodded and Mintyheart disappeared into a thick patch of ferns.

"Are you ready Palepaw?" Blazingstar mewed as he turned is back on the young cat.

Mintyheart padded soundlessly to where he last heard the bird's cry was last heard. He was aware that he was edging closer to the border with Shadeclan, so he stayed as hidden as possible. The up ahead he saw a shadow move. Creeping closer he saw a sleek jet black tom weaving among the sparsely placed ferns with a vole hanging limp in his mouth. As he watched the tom as he padded along and stopped at a pile of prey, left the vole and padded back into the forest. Once he was sure that the black tom was gone he padded forward to the pile. There were 3 mice, 2 voles, a thrush, a squirrel, and a young rabbit. Mintyheart stared at the prey at his paws, _I can't believe Shadeclan has the nerve to hunt this much prey and leave it out here. I will enjoy ripping them apart tonight. _Then another idea crossed the silver tom's mind, _This is Forestclan prey so it should be in our bellies, not our enemies. _Picking up the three mice he dashed back to where his clanmates were training.

"Okay now you're just showing off" Blazingstar mewed playfully, "You were only gone a few moments."

Mintyheart dropped the mice, "A Shadeclan cat is hunting in our boarders. I knew it would be unwise to confront him with the battle tonight, so..." He paused "I just took back what is ours."

"Nice job Mintyheart!" Blazingstar mewed. "Which cats were there?"

"I didn't recognize him. Black tom. My size and build."

"Humm... I don't think I'd know either." Blazingstar mewed

"Is it okay if I go back and get the rest? He seems to be alone." Mintyheart questioned.

"Go ahead. We can use the prey. Spiceheart and I will work the apprentices until you get back." Blazingstar mewed.

Mintyheart nodded and padded off. When he got back to the pile the black cat was gone but another thrush was on the pile. Mintyheart grabbed some prey and headed back and did this till only the squirrel remained. As he picked it up he heard the bush stir and the tom emerged. Mintyheart let out a low growl, grabbed the squirrel and ran, knowing that a fight would be bad for the attack tonight. The black tom was right on his tail, but Mintyheart knew these woods like the back of his paw.

"I hunted that prey!" The unknown tom called.

"Yeah, well this is Forestclan prey. Why don't you stay in your territory?"

"You stole it!" He accused.

"I stole it!?" Mintyheart screeched. "You took it from our territory!" Mintyheart was almost to the clearing where is clanmates were. _I can't believe he is coming this far into Forestclan territory. _

As the two toms raced along the path, Spiceheart's lanky shape came into view. She looked up,

"It looks like Mintyheart has a shadow." She mewed to Blazingstar. The black tom, looking ahead and seeing he was greatly outnumbered, whispered just loud enough for Mintyheart to hear,

"I will find you!" and dashed off into the undergrowth.

Mintyheart jogged over to his clanmates panting around the squirrel is his mouth. "This was the last piece." His clanmates purred in amusement. The trained till the sun was high and then headed back to camp. Mintyheart went to check on Maplefur and bring her the plumpest vole. Spiceheart told Foxpaw and Palepaw to rest until dusk. They each grabbed some prey and headed towards Shimmerpaw and Echopaw who were dozing in the sunlight. Spiceheart followed Blazingstar with a rabbit that they could share. Hours past and the camp was peaceful with most of its members relaxing in the sunlight. The sun was still over the trees when Mintyheart stirred and got up from the nursery. Blinking his eyes awake in the fading sunlight he padded towards the camp's entrance. "I'll be right back. Just going out for a run." he called out to Winterstorm who nodded.

His pure black coat blended perfectly with the tree bark he leaned against. His trap was set, all he had to do was to put it into action. He climbed higher to get a better look at the surrounding forest. His claws dug in perfectly and his paws knew automatically where to go, he was born to climb. After some time his golden eyes fell on the silver and black tom he'd been waiting for. He yowled loudly and the silver tom stopped, crouched down, and began stalking in his direction. _Perfect. _He thought and climbed down the tree to a lower branch where he had wrapped a rope around a large broken branch. The other end of the rope was a loop hidden under some leaves below him. The silver cat was right below him, but not quiet in the right spot. Twitching his tail he waited, then when his silver paw was over the loop, he pushed the log out of the tree, tightening the loop around the silver and black tom's leg and sending him up into the air.

Mintyheart let out a surprised yowl as he flew up into the air. Hanging upside down from his back, leg he flailed helplessly as the black tom from earlier in the day, padded towards him. "In Starclan's name, GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" Mintyheart yowled at the sleek tom who was now circling him.

"Starclan?" The tom mewed with a hint of wonder in his voice.

"I will rip you limb from limb you mangy flea-bag of a of a warrior!"

"Oh will you now?" His golden eyes sparkled. "In order to that you'd have to have all four paws on the ground, don't you think?" He mewed amused at the still struggling tom.

Mintyheart continued to struggle for some time before going still and turning his head to face his capture-er. "What do you want?" He breathed.

"The prey you stole from me." The black tom mewed coolly.

"You caught it here. On my clan's territory. All I did was take back what was rightfully ours!" Mintyheart hissed, his eyes not leaving the other tom's eyes.

"Clan...oh, you're a clan cat. A warrior, correct?" He mewed, with a new spark of interest gleaming in his eyes.

"Yes. I'm a warrior of Forestclan. So are you a loner or something. Because there is no way a kittypet could hunt as well as you do." Realizing he had complemented this stealing cat, he let out a hiss.

"I live with a few other cats in a barn. That way." He flicked his tail towards Shadeclan's territory.

"No wonder, you're still half kittypet. You're too much of a coward to fight me so you had to string me up like this in order to even speak with me."

"Well it's the best way I could think of to come face to face with such a handsome and impressive warrior as yourself." He brushed his sleek black tail over Mintyheart's nose. "You know the only reason I came out her was to get some food for my sister, her friend and their 5 kits."

"Oh aren't you charming." Mintyheart growled.

"I have a name you know. It's Boo."

"Don't care, Charming suits you." Mintyheart mewed stubbornly.

The black tom let out a sign. "Do you want down?"

"YES!" Mintyheart mewed.

"Well then give me back the prey you stole!"

"It's in my clanmates bellies." Mintyheart retorted.

"Well I guess you'll be up there awhile. Because, I'm not letting you down till you promise to bring it all back."

Mintyheart let out a huff and silence fell between them. The sun was almost set when Mintyheart spoke. "I need to get back to my clan tonight. We are going into a battle with another clan and I have to be with them. Please, let me down." His blue eyes sparkled in the dying sunlight.

"Will you bring me back the prey?"

"Yes, just not tonight. I need time to hunt it all and still provide for my clanmates. They can't know I'm doing this so I can't bring it to you all at once. Over the next few days I can get it back to you."

Looking deeply into the silver cat's deep blue eyes he nodded, went to the rope and bit through it. Mintyheart fell back to the ground and landed awkwardly on his paws. "What if I ran off right now?" Mintyheart asked the shadowed tom.

"You won't."

"You're right." Mintyheart mewed and twitched his whiskers. "I'm not at coward." He padded towards the black tom, who held his ground. "What if I ripped out your throat right here and ended this quite quickly." He was nose to nose with the tom now. Both cat's eyes locked.

"You wouldn't" The coal cat answered

"You don't know that, now do you, Charming."

"Yes I do. You are loyal to your clanmates but you are also fair. You know I didn't mean any harm to them and was only trying to help out my friends and their kits. I also know you have a gentle heart under your strong muscles. You are a rare find, such power, yet such control." He purred "Your loyalty and heart will not let you forget the promise you made. Warrior or loner, you're a good cat."

Mintyheart took a step back. "How do you know all that?"

"It's in your eyes."

Mintyheart hissed. He hated being analyzed but there was something about this cat that felt safe and honest. "I'll bring you the first payback tomorrow at sun-high." He mewed as he turned his back on the loner. "Don't be late, Charming."

Mintyheart padded into camp and there were warriors passing everywhere.

"That was a long run." Winterstorm's mew surprised him from behind.

"Ummm...yeah. I fell asleep by the river." Mintyheart lied.

Peppernose padded swiftly over to Blazingstar. "I had a dream. It's an odd dream and I'm not sure of the meaning yet, but you should know."

As Blazingstar nodded Echopaw, Shimmerpaw, and Foxpaw padded along mewing to each other.

"I just had the weirdest dream." Echopaw meowed.

"What was it?" Foxpaw asked.

"I don't think it was anything, it's was kind of dumb really."

"Oh just tell us." Shimmerpaw insisted.

"Fine. I was out by the sunning rocks when I rounded the corner and there was a dead fox right in front of me." Echopaw mewed to her friends.

"That is weird." Foxpaw mewed and the three dashed away.

"What was your dream?" Blazingstar asked.

Peppernose flattened his ears and glared at Echopaw. "That."

"Interesting..." Blazingstar mewed softly. "We must go." Blazingstar's mew rang out, "I want every cat to split into the groups they were assigned. My group over here, Bluefrost's group by the warriors den, Peppernose and Echopaw by the medicine cat's den, and the cats who are guarding the camp by the nursery." The clan divided and then looked expectantly at Blazingstar. "Good. Now everyone, stay in your groups and follow me." He led them through the moonless forest to a little stream which banks had a dark wet mud. "Now, I want every light pelted cat to roll in the mud. It will hide your pelts as well as your sent. Everyone else roll in the grass over there to mask your sent."

"You look lovely." Winterstorm mewed to Mintyheart.

"Wow, Winterstorm! I didn't even recognize you!"

Blazingstar, who was covered in a coat of mud, flicked his tail and his warriors followed him. Upon reaching the boarder the Forestclan cats crossed, without even a sniff. Every cat padded along confidently, knowing how important this battle was. Although every cat hated being so exposed without their normal forest covering to stalk though. Two-thirds of way to the camp, Blazingstar halted. "We are almost there." He padded along swiftly again, sticking to the shadows. At the top a small hill he halted again. Looking across the open dip in the earth to the hill on the other side they could see one cat sitting outside a larger clump of trees and brush. Blazingstar nodded and Mintyheart padded forward. "Good luck my friend. And my Starclan lead your claws." Mintyheart twitched his whiskers thankfully and stalked off.

His paws fell silently over the earth as he glided towards the camp and its guard. As he approached he recognized the guard as Pinefall. _Perfect _Mintyheart thought. He changed is direction so that he'd approach Pinefall from is back left side. Mintyheart's belly fur just touched the ground as he stalked the brown tom like prey. When he was less than 5 fox-lengths away he went into his hunters crouch, bunched up his haunches, and dashed forward, leaping at Pinefall's shoulder and knocking his to the ground hard. In one motion he sat on the brown cat's chest pinning is front legs down and pushing is own sheathed paws into the soft part of his neck. Pinefall's eyes were wide as he struggled to free himself of Mintyheart's grasp but his efforts were in vain. He's mouth soundlessly called the alarm but it was no use. After mouthing Mintyheart's name, his eyes flickered then closed. Mintyheart loosened his grip and the Shadeclan warrior fell to his side. Mintyheart leaned towards the tom's chest to check his breathing, _regular, as if he's asleep. _Mintyheart purred to himself. Standing, he padded forward, shot his tail into the air and lashed it. Looking into the valley he saw Blazingstar, Adderfang, Skypool, Palepaw, and Foxpaw padding towards him. "Nice job." Skypool whispered and Blazingstar rested his tail on Mintyheart back. Palepaw took his place at his mentor's side, beaming with pride. Blazingstar lead the way into camp. It was empty, and the only sound was the deep breathing of sleeping cats. Blazingstar twitched his tail and his warriors and apprentices fanned out. Each heading to a side of the camp and disappearing into the shadows. Blazingstar was the last to hide, making sure each cat wasn't seen. The silence lasted only a few moments. The camp was brought to life as Bluefrost lead Winterstorm, Icecloud, Sunstone, and Shimmerpaw yowling fiercely into the camp.

The only sign of anxiety was in the form of a twitching tail from Peppernose. Echopaw, on the other hand, paced back and forth.

"Sit still and be quiet," hissed Peppernose.

Echopaw spun around and snarled, "How can you just sit there when our clanmates are in danger! You're so - so - ugh!"

For once, he understood the young she-cat, for he too was once young and felt the blood pumping through his veins, and knowing that he was unable to do anything yet feel the pull of battle.

"I review all the herbs I know and what they do."

"I don't know any herbs!"

"Then review your battle moves."

"I don't know many of those!"

"So?"

"So teach me some herbs!"

"No."

"But I'm dying!"

"Really. What are you dying from?"

"Um... infection!"

"Then you'll need some marigold."

"Which one is that?"

"This one..."

Bluefrost's yowl resonated throughout the clearing, challenging the ShadeClan warriors to face him in battle. As the warriors slumbered out of their dens, misfortune shined down upon the first ones out for they felt the wrath of Bluefrost first. He leapt onto Ashfoot first. He sank his teeth into her shoulder, and thrashed her around while taking care not to rip his own teeth out. After a few moments, the tide of battle forced Bluefrost to let go.

Fogeyes leapt onto a rock and began yowling, "This is the might and wrath of ForestClan? Only a handful of warriors! HA! We'll kill you all!"

Bluefrost let out a second yowl in which his hiding clanmates surfaced. Before the ShadeClan cats could work out what was happening their forces were matched. Bluefrost jumped in a large arc over some apprentices and pulled Fogeyes down to the floor, and the two deputies met in combat.

Palepaw crouched down as Bluefrost leapt over him to take down the other deputy. He then felt his ear throb as another apprentice slashed it open.

"You don't have time to what your precious deputy get sliced to ribbons," the black one growled.

"Well, come on! Attack us!" the larger gray one spat.

"I-uh-"

"Aw, look at him, Badgerpaw! He doesn't know any battle moves!"

"What has your mentor been teaching you? How to eat dirt?!" Badgerpaw then took a swipe at Palepaw.

"M-my m-m-mentor is de b-bravest warr-or-"

"He's stuttering!"

"Cats stutter when their lying!"

"I knew it, Spiderpaw! He doesn't have a mentor!"

"Yeah! That's right! ForestClan is so short on warriors that they don't even train apprentices and send them into battle without any skills!" With that and with a roar, Spiderpaw and Badgerpaw both sprang at Palepaw. Up against a rock, Palepaw had nowhere to go, except up. He did a sort of corkscrew over the backs of his adversaries and surprisingly landed on his feet while the others landed face first in the dust. Palepaw then skidded away to find Mintyheart.

Winterstorm battled the slippery she-cat Nightwhisper.

"Come on, Loserstorm. That all you got?"

"Ah, you are as charming as you are as deadly, as I remember."

"You trying to crack a joke?"

"No, not at all. Just reminiscing."

"Well, you should be worried, cuz you don't got no time to make jokes."

"I'll get worried once your beauty matches your prowess, for your sake. Your skills would have

to decline so much to match your beauty."

Nightwhisper's head jerked back. That made her pause, trying to figure out what Winterstorm had just said.

"And if it matched your intelligence, why, then I would be ever so inclined to advise you to never reproduce. You wouldn't want to infect all of ShadeClan." And with that, he launched himself at her and took her down.

Icecloud quickly sized up the gray and white tom in front of him. He knew that Crawlfoot was one of the younger warriors of Shadeclan, which in a battle he normally avoided and fought more senior warriors, but this wasn't a normal battle. Every cat counted and a Forestclan victory depended on a swift defeat of every cat in Shadeclan, in which they were outnumbered. Icecloud dodged the tom's first attack with ease and countered with one of his own, in which Crawlfoot was not as lucky. _Your inexperience will be your weakness_ Icecloud thought as he swiftly attacked again.

Sunstone, whose job it was to guard the entrance and make sure no cat escaped into the woods, let out a low growl as Snakeheart padded her way. "Mangy tom." she spat as he approached the entrance. "Pinefall?" He mewed to the cat lying in the dirt. Letting her belly fur brush the ground, the golden brown she-cat sprung at the unknowing tom, ranking her claws along his shoulder. Shocked Snakeheart swung around and slashed at Sunstone's face, missing her eye by a whisker. Leaping, Sunstone locked her fangs deep into the tom' shoulder till he forced her to let go as he bit down one her tail, yanking her off. Blood dripping into the black dirt the two cats sprang at each other again, eyes blazing.

Badgerpaw rolled around on the ground, claws and jaws locked with Shimmerpaw. Kicking her hind legs into his soft belly fur, Shimmerpaw freed herself from his grip. Rising to her paws she jumped swiftly aside out of his paws reach. Realizing she was cornered at the side of the camp, she swung her head looking for a way out. The larger grey tom padded forward, twitching his whiskers he added, "Enjoy being a kit in Starclan, because that's how you will die under my paw." Out of the corner of her eye Shimmerpaw spotted a pine tree a length from her. Racing towards it she climbed up, with the Badgerpaw following her. Remembering a move Winterstorm taught her two sunrises ago; she let go of the tree, twisted, and landed with claws extended on the toms back. He fell under the force of her fall, knocking the breath from his chest. Coughing he tried to stand but fell again as his body failed him. Ranking her claws along his side, blood splattered her cream pelt. Pinning down the tom, she leaned close to his ear, "You just got your pelt beat by a kit." She whispered. "Now run to your den like the sniveling kit you are." Letting her grip lessening she ranked her claws along his back and he pelted to the apprentice's den. She paused a moment to make sure he wouldn't come back out. _Dumb tom. _Turning she heard her mentor's mew. "Nice job Shimmerpaw. Do it again." Turning she saw Tawnypaw pelting across the clearing, hissing, she pelted after her.

Palepaw wove through the fighting cats and was aware of Ringpaw hard on his paws. Dashing towards a flash of silver, he found Mintyheart locked in battle with Cedarheart. Palepaw stood, frantic as Ringpaw approached. Mintyheart, seeing his frozen apprentice, jumped nimbly over the brown tom's back leaving him swinging his head, wondering where the little silver tom went. Mintyheart locked his eyes with his apprentice, "Listen to me." Mintyheart began in a calm and confident voice. "You can do this. Ringpaw doesn't stand a chance….."

"He'll tear me to sh-rrreds Mintyheart! I can't do-ooo this!"

"Yes you can. I believe in you. In fact I'd be honored to fight alongside you. You get my back I'll get yours, okay?"

Palepaw's eyes grew wide, but he nodded. _I can't let Mintyheart down. _He thought. _He's a good mentor. He can't help it he got a mouse for an apprentice. _ Mintyheart turned to face Cedarheart and rested his tail on Palepaw's side. He launched himself at Cedarheart but stayed close enough to Palepaw to reach him in a heartbeat. Digging his claws into Cedarheart's back, he checked on Palepaw, and couldn't help but purr watching Ringpaw leap every which way but always missing his target. Cedarheart rolled knocking Mintyheart from his back and into the dust with a thud. Leaping up Mintyheart just missed getting crushed under the larger tom's weight. Minutes passed but still the tom's clawed at each other with heightened intensity, both covered in blood that oozed from fresh scratches.

Ringpaw had slowed and was panting heavily as Palepaw dashed around him, always out of reach. "Show him what your claws feel like" Mintyheart mewed between strikes. "You've tried him out." Palepaw nodded and rushed forward, striking the tom on his ear. Amazement filled Palepaw as he realized the blood on his claws was not his own. Ringpaw let out a hiss and jumped for Palepaw but fell short, giving Palepaw time to strike again.

Blazingstar passed near Miststar's den. _Why won't she come out and fight. Stop being a coward _He thought. Looking out he saw his clanmates battling fiercely. "Come out Miststar. Stop hiding like a kittypet and defend your clan." Hearing nothing he let out a frustrated hiss. _I need to help my clan. We are greatly outnumbered and every claw counts. _In the battle he saw Bluefrost digging his claws into Fogeyes and in the heart of battle he didn't notice Darkstripe ready to attack him. Blazingstar leaped at the brown tom knocking him off his feet. Bluefrost looked over, nodded his thanks, and reared up at Fogeyes again. Letting Darkstripe get to his paws, Blazingstar crouched down waiting for the tom to attack him, and as planned, he did. As the brown tom flew through the air Blazingstar sprung at his hindquarters, knocking him to the ground with his belly fur exposed. Blazingstar quickly ranked his claws in his soft belly fur and sprang back, avoiding his claws. Yowling, Darkstripe launched at the Forestclan leader but Blazingstar jumped neatly out of his way, tripping him with his tail as he passed by. Blazingstar spun around ready to attack but saw that the Shadeclan warrior wasn't on his paws yet and waited to attack. "They don't fight by the warrior code." Bluefrost called seeing Blazingstar.

"But we do." Blazingstar mewed back. Bluefrost nodded as he attacked Fogeyes again. Once Darkstripe was on his paws, Blazingstar locked his jaws into the brown tom's shoulder. Freeing himself from the black and white leader's grip, Darkstripe hissed, "Let's see how good of a leader you are when you're blind." Leaping forward he slashed his claws towards Blazingstar's golden eyes. Blazingstar turned his head to protect his eyes but the brown warrior's claws landed just above his eyes digging deep and causing blood to pool around his eyes, forcing him to close his eyes. _Bluefrost was right. _Blazingstar though. _But Forestclan will remain true to Starclan. _Listening closely Blazingstar located Darkstripe preparing to attack. Darkstripe sprang at him from behind. Blindly Blazingstar fell to the ground countering the warrior's attack by using his own momentum to fling him to the ground, pinning him down he ranked his claws along the tom's flank. Blood started following from the scratches Blazingstar inflicted. Loosening his grip, he looked where he assumed the warrior would be. Darkstripe's sides heaved, looking up at Blazingstar he mewed, "Just kill me and get it over with."

"You won't be sent to Starclan from my claws." Blazingstar spat. "Now go to Tangleberry and get your wounds looked at." Growling Darkstripe hauled himself away to Tangleberry, who took him into her den and dashed to get to some herbs. Blazingstar wiped the blood from his eyes. Opening them, he found that he could only see clearly with one eye. The scratch over his eye had caused it to swell shut, blocking his sight. Turning his head he saw Bluefrost padding forward. "Are you okay?" He questioned.

"I'm fine." Blazingstar mewed.

"Can you see?" Bluefrost looked closer at his leader's eye.

"It's only swollen. Where did Fogeyes go?"

"He disappeared after I threw him off my back and into the clearing. You should see Peppernose."

A slight tone of worry in Bluefrost's mew.

"I'll be fine." Blazingstar purred. "Now, why don't you show these flea bags what Forestclan is made of."

Nodding the toms turned. Bluefrost pelted after a flick of gray at the on the other side of the camp. _Fogeyes _He thought. Blazingstar looked towards Miststar's den and saw her head poke out. She quickly padded along the out skirts of the camp. Hissing, he padded after her.

Skypool limped towards where Peppernose and Echopaw were. Echopaw pelted out to her mother and helped her back to Peppernose. "My claw got ripped." Skypool mewed softly.

"And her shoulder is bleeding badly." Echopaw mewed, seeing the torn fur. She automatically started licking the wound clean as Peppernose worked on Skypool's claw. Once the bleeding stopped, he chewed up some herbs, sending a tangy smell into the air. "Cover her wound with this." He instructed Echopaw without looking at the dappled apprentice. Doing as she was told, Skypool couldn't help but purr. _Look at my kits. _She thought proudly._ Birchstripe_ _would be so proud too. _"Am I as good as new?" She asked.

"No. So take it easy." Peppernose warned in a low growl. "Don't open it again."

Turning, she flicked Echopaw under the chin with her tail and purred. Pelting back into the heat of battle, she saw Adderfang battering at Cherrytail without mercy, with the she-cat doing her best to block his attacks. _That tom's got some build up aggression. _She thought to herself. Turning she saw that Foxpaw was locked in a heated battle with Spiderpaw. She prayed at the blood on her pelt was all from the gray tom and not her daughter. A loud screech made Skypool's fur claw as Ashfoot pelted towards her. Her gray pelt fluffed out as the she-cat grew closer they sized each other up. Fangs and claws out, the two cats locked onto each other, battling for leverage.

Mintyheart's sides were heaving as he watched the large brown and white tom bound away, slipping past Sunstone and disappearing into the forest. Looking over, he purred as Palepaw continued to run circles around Ringpaw, jumping in to give him a nip or scratch whenever he felt brave enough. Out of nowhere Mintyheart collapsed under the weight of a heavy cat. Wiggling himself free he got to his paws. Shadowstripe. With one swing Mintyheart was thrown to the dirt by the brown tom. Pain shot in Mintyheart's lungs as he took in a breath. _Peppernose is going to be so pissed if I broke a rib. _Springing high into the air Mintyheart managed to inflict a deep cut down the Shadeclan warrior's flank, sending blood splattering into the dry dirt. Yowling, Shadowstripe griped Mintyheart's back leg with his teeth and flung him against a nearby tree. For a moment Mintyheart didn't move, then his breath returned as he saw the brown tom padding towards him. To slow to recover in time, Shadowstripe dug his fangs deep into the side of Mintyheart's neck and shook him viciously. Mintyheart's vision began to blur as his body was thrown from side to side. _Splashpelt. I'm ready to join you in Starclan. I hope you're proud of your kit. _A sweet smell filled his nose, but it was not his mother's scent. Suddenly the pressure was off him and his vision started to return. Picking his head up he saw Shadowstripe clawing helplessly at his back trying to throw off a black tom, who was ripping clumps of his brown pelt out. Unable to move Mintyheart watched as his rescuer slid to the side of huge tom and kicked his back feet with such force that the brown tom's flank opened to reveal soft pink tissue. Without a pause the black cat jumped at Shadowstripe, ranking his claws over his ears and followed by griping the brown cat in his jaws, flinging his head side to side, tearing his pelt, and slinging the tom into the dirt where he laid, crumbled like a leave. Padding quickly over Mintyheart, the black tom's golden eyes betrayed his worry. "Charming?" Mintyheart mewed, unable to hide his shock.

"I said I'd always find you." The black tom mewed softly. Flicking his tail over Mintyheart's ears he turned and disappeared in the underbrush surrounding the Shadeclan camp.

Bluefrost pelted after Fogeyes, who had disappeared earlier, and dug his claws into his hindquarters. Fogeyes yowled in protest, kicking Bluefrost in the chest and freeing himself. Bluefrost, unbuttered by the pale gray tom's attempts, landed squarely on the opposing deputy. Just as Bluefrost was preparing to rank is claws into the tom's exposed belly fur, he heard a high pitched squeak as a kit was hurled in front of his claws. Landing awkwardly in order to avoid the dark brown kit below his claws, Bluefrost looked up at Fogeyes who stood in front of him whiskers twitching. Bluefrost couldn't believe his eyes. Fogeyes has thrown a moon old kit at him in order to avoid a screech. "I pray to Starclan you never lead Shadeclan." Bluefrost hissed. Smirking, Fogeyes leaped for Bluefrost. The little kit squealed as the deputy's claws landing a mouse-length away. Confused by the task of fighting around a kit, Bluefrost received a strong blow on his flank from Fogeyes' claws. Bluefrost was suddenly aware of another cat at his side. Looking over he saw the ginger and white pelt of Skypool. Slithering in, she quickly picked up the wailing kit. Bluefrost nodded his gratitude at the mothering she-cat and turned his claws once again on Fogeyes.

Skypool carried the tiny kit gently in her jaws. Padding over to the nursery she could hear the wails of a queen. Once she was spotted, Larksong padded out. "Timberkit!" She mewed breathlessly.

"Fogeyes had him." Skypool mewed. "Battle is no place for a kit." She mewed warmly.

Larksong picked up the tiny kit. "Thank you." She mewed sincerely and padded back into the nursery.

"Go back to camp." Peppernose mewed to Adderfang. "Your injuries are too much for me to treat here and if you go back out some cat will have to carry you back." He hissed.

Nodding he padded off and disappeared through the camp's entrance. Mintyheart padded up, blood patches coving up his silver pelt. "Give me some poppy seeds." He mewed.

"I will do no such thing." Peppernose spat. "I'm the medicine cat so you'll get what I give you. Besides, poppy seeds will make you sleepy."

"Well give me whatever you suggest then and let me get back out there." Mintyheart mewed impatiently. Peppernose's response was nothing up a humph as he dug though his herbs.

"Could you give him traveling herbs?" Echopaw asked as she placed cobwebs on Mintyheart's neck bit.

"Yeah!" Mintyheart exclaimed. "All I need is some extra energy and I can get back out there." He mewed flicking his tail from side to side.

Peppernose circled Mintyheart looking at his injuries. "I will give you traveling herbs. But you are not going back out there. You will go straight back to camp. Wait for me in my den." He mewed coolly as he sniffed Mintyheart's sore rib.

Mintyheart let out a low growl but nodded. Echopaw went to were Peppernose told her the traveling herbs were and grabbed a packet. Placing it beside Mintyheart he gobbled it up as if it was a juicy mouse. "Don't those taste bad?" Echopaw asked the silver tom.

Mintyheart nodded. "Thanks Peppernose. I'll see you in camp."

As he padded out of the makeshift medicine cat den, Echopaw watched him go. "He's not heading towards the tunnel." She mewed to Peppernose.

"I knew he wouldn't" Peppernose hissed. "Dumb young warriors think they're invincible."

"Do you want me to…." Just them Echopaw's eyes fell on two cats coming towards them. One

was Winterstorm and he was leading a smaller orange cat, who kept stumbling. "Foxpaw." Echopaw breathed before dashing out into the battle.

Peppernose, seeing the little apprentice stumble, turned quickly to get herbs.

Foxpaw stumbled and fell as Echopaw reached her sister. "What happened?!" She wailed bending down to sniff her injuries.

"She was fighting with Spiderpaw." Winterstorm mewed softly.

"Echopaw." The words barley left the ginger she-cat's mouth and she started coughing.

"Shhhh." Echopaw soothed. "Peppernose is coming. He's going to make it all better." She began licking her sister blood stained pelt franticly. Foxpaw's body convulsed and she let out a pitiful mew. Peppernose padded up along the little she-cat, flicking his tail for the other's to give him room. Winterstorm took a step back and kept a lookout for danger, but Echopaw didn't move. After Peppernose gave her a quick sniff he looked up. "There's nothing I can do." He mewed. "It's in Starclan's paws, not ours."

Echopaw's head shot up as Foxpaw's body was taken over by another shutter. "DO SOMETHING!" She wailed at Peppernose.

"There's nothing at can do." He mewed and looked up to the stars.

Foxpaw began coughing again but this time red liquid began draining from her mouth. Echopaw leapt at Peppernose, knocking him back a step before turning back to her sister, "What do you mean you can't do anything! You're our medicine cat! Save her!" She turned and began chewing up some herbs.

"There's nothing to do." Peppernose mewed. "Her rib is broken and it's stabbed her lung. No herbs will help."

Echopaw turned back to her sister, licking the top of her head as another wave of contractions overtook her body. "Foxpaw! Foxpaw!" Echopaw mewed. "Stay with me! Please! I can't lose you."

Foxpaw looked up into her sister's eyes. "You will never lose me." The words barley a whisper, "I will never leave you." Closing her eyes, Foxpaw took in one last breath and released her spirit to Starclan.

"NO!" Echopaw wailed like a kit. "No please! Starclan don't take her! We were supposed to be warriors together, share adventure and battles! Our kits were supposed to play together and after we served our clan for countless moons, we were going to live out our days telling stories in the elder's den." Her mew drowned out by sorrow. Pushing her nose deep into her sister's fur she wailed. "This isn't how it was supposed to be!"

"Why don't you face me and defend your clan?" Blazingstar accused.

"Oh. I was just looking for you." The Shadeclan leader mewed.

"Well you found me." Blazingstar paused a moment then rushed forward and attacked. Miststar ducked away, but his claws still met her ear and tore it. Hissing she swung back around and missed his tail by a heartbeat. Springing into the air Blazingstar landed on the side of the she-cat and knocked her to the ground. _She is much frailer then I thought. Miststar must be close to her last life. No wonder she wasn't quick to dash out of her den. _With this newly gained knowledge Blazingstar paused, giving the elderly she-cat timeto recover and get her wits around her. Hissing she struck out and landing a blow to the top of his head. "What happened to your eye? Are my warriors too much for a great leader like yourself to handle?" She teased.

"Your warriors don't fight by the code, if that's what you mean." Slipping his paw quickly under the grey she-cat he tripped her and sent her neatly stumbling to the ground.

"Stop toying with me." She spat as Blazingstar waited for her to recover. "I know this isn't how you really fight. Why are you holding back?"

Blazingstar looked deep into her eyes, "Because no cat should be disrespected in battle. Battle isn't about how much injury each clan can inflict, but what lies behind that battle and fuels its fire."

The two leaders stood facing each other, understanding slowly replacing the hate in Miststar's eyes. Blazingstar took a paw step forward but was knocked to the ground as Fogeyes leapt at him from his blind side. As he landed his head hit a large flat stone in the hollow causing him to lose consciousness. Fogeyes stood over the black and white tom's body for a moment. Looking over his shoulder he saw the surprise in his leader's face. Across the clearing he saw Bluefrost pelting towards him with Mintyheart hard on his paws. Bending down he grabbed Blazingstar's neck with his fangs and began to shake him viciously. A stream of blood quickly flowed from his neck and his body was shaken by spasms. Dropping the leader's body he pelted off as Bluefrost arrived.

"Blazingstar?" Bluefrost mewed looking up after where Fogeyes went. Looking into the clearing he yowled for Peppernose.

Mintyheart padded up to Bluefrost's side. "Rip his pelt off, Bluefrost." Mintyheart growled. "I'll help Peppernose."

Bluefrost pelted after the gray tom, revenge fueling his pawsteps. A low growl sounded behind Mintyheart. Turning, he saw Miststar. Letting out a fierce hiss he lunged her way, but she leapt out of reach and disappeared within the brush.

Peppernose arrived, quickly sniffing Blazingstar. "He's losing a life." The black tom mewed, looking worried as he saw the stream of blood flowing from his leader's neck. "We need cobwebs." He mewed to Mintyheart. "If I don't stop the bleeding he'll lose more than one life."

Mintyheart pelted off across the clearing, hurrying back with bundle of spider web is his jaws. Peppernose press the bundle into his leader's wound, sending up a silent plea to Starclan.

When Blazingstar opened his eyes he wasn't in the Shadeclan camp. He could hear the sounds of battle but they were muffled. Looking around he realized he was in Starclan's territory. Glancing below his paws he saw the battle and his limp body with Peppernose and Mintyheart beside it. Suppressing a shiver he turned as four cats with star light in their paws padded towards him. Taking his eyes off the battle below him Blazingstar gazed at the cats before him. His mother, Sundancer, padded forward touching her kit's nose. Purring he felt a flick of a tail on his side, turning he saw his sister, Nightpaw. The apprentice he lost in battle under Patchstar's leadership, Owlpaw, padded forward with a gleam in his eye. Flicking the tom over the head he almost forgot where he was. Behind these cats was a ginger tom, Lionstar, who was leader before Patchstar. Blazingstar had only met the old leader once, when he received his nine lives from Starclan. Suddenly, Blazingstar looked down, aware of the battle once more. He looked with panic at the starry cats in front of him, "I need to go back!" Blazingstar mewed "My clan needs me."

"Indeed they do." Lionstar mewed. "But you need to lose a life first."

"Then take it." Blazingstar mewed impatiently. "I need to get back down there." Pain rattled his limp body as well as his spirit in Starclan. After the pain subsided he looked back at the glowing cats. "Can I return?"

"Yes." Sundancer mewed, licking the top of his head as she did when he was a kit. Part of him longed to stay in Starclan, with so many he loved and lost. But a stronger part of him pulled him back to his clanmates below. Licking her on the shoulder he closed his eyes. Pain returned as he returned to his body. Mintyheart and Peppernose looked down at him. "There he is." Mintyheart mewed happily flicking his friend over the head with his tail.

"What's the damage?" Blazingstar mewed softly, feeling the pain in his neck and side.

"He ripped your throat out pretty good." Peppernose mewed coolly. "I put cobwebs over it but that won't stop the bleeding enough if you move around too much."

Bluefrost threw Fogeyes to the ground. "I want to speak with you, Blazingstar." Fogeyes began to slip away.

"I'll take care of that scum for you, Bluefrost," Mintyheart purred. "At least until you're done speaking with Blazingstar."

Bluefrost nodded and padded over to his leader. "You lost a life didn't you?"

Blazingstar nodded. "How is that battle going?"

"Surprisingly well." Bluefrost mewed. "Are warriors are tried but I think we might have the advantage."

"Great." Blazingstar stood.

"Blazingstar. You're hurt. I think you should avoid battle for now."

"I'm fine." Bluefrost didn't look convinced. "I'm not sitting the rest of this battle out. I lead my clan here and I will lead them back to camp. I lost one life but I will gladly lose all nine if it meant to success of Forestclan."

Bluefrost looked deeply into his leader's glittering eyes, "Understood. Miststar went around the clearing that way." Bluefrost meowed, flicking his tail in the direction that the gray she-cat went. Blazingstar padded around the camp as Bluefrost return to Mintyheart who had recently pinned Fogeyes down and ranked his claws over his back. Looking around the camp he saw that only Icecloud, Mintyheart, Palepaw, Icecloud, and Bluefrost were still fighting with Shadeclan warriors. Winterstorm, Skypool, and Echopaw were in a tight circle. _Sunstone, Shimmerpaw and Adderfang must have been sent back to the camp by Peppernose. And the battles that were still going on seemed to be mostly in Forestclan's favor. _Suddenly a gray figure crossed the clearing. Pelting after it, Blazingstar could feel his sides aching. Slashing his claws against the she-cat's body he swung her to the ground. Getting to her paws she batted at his head but missed. Blazingstar dung his claws into her shoulder and pulled her onto the ground. Looming over her placed his paw on her shoulder not allowing her to get up. "This battle is over." Blazingstar mewed flatly. The wound on his neck slowing starting to bleed again.

"What are your terms?" She breathed.

"Call off your warriors. Keep your boarder where it belongs and never cross it. If you break these terms I'll have my warriors claw your clan's pelt off." He removed his paw and let her stand.

Knowing her weakness and that she was defeated, Miststar nodded. "Agreed. Shadeclan retreat."

All around the battle stopped and the cats looked towards their bleeding leaders.

Bowing her head to Blazingstar she limped towards her den, but Blazingstar fell into place beside her, catching her on his shoulder as she stumbled.

Miststar let out a low growl at Blazingstar's help but knowing that she would fall without him, didn't shoo him away. As she entered her den she couldn't hide the weariness in her eyes. Bowing his head slightly to the elderly leader, Blazingstar padded out into the clearing where yowls of triumph greeted him. Raising his tail he gathered his battered but pound warriors. A ginger pelt caught his eyes, padded quickly over he saw the limb body of Foxpaw in the dirt. Skypool had her face into her daughter's pelt and Echopaw was staring blankly muttering to herself. Winterstorm had his tail draped over Skypool and Shimmerpaw was at his side, sadness welling up in her blue eyes.

Blazingstar's heart ached as he looked down at the little apprentice. Why Starclan? She was so young. Please welcome her into your paws. Bluefrost padded up to his side, turning to him he murmured, "Lead the patrol home. Icecloud and I will carry Foxpaw back to the camp."

Bluefrost nodded and swept his tail gathering his clanmates, leading them at a brisk jog towards camp. Blazingstar slid under the little she-cat's body with Icecloud and rose to his paws. Together they padded toward camp.

Mintyheart fell into step with Palepaw, glancing down at his apprentice. "You fought well." He mewed in the little tom's ear. Palepaw had a few scratches on his pelt but hardly any compared to the other apprentices. He's good at avoiding Mintyheart mewed to himself. "I'm very proud of you." Palepaw's eyes gleamed at his mentor's praise, but Mintyheart could see the weariness in his paws.

As they entered camp Maplefur let a fierce hiss until she realized it was the returning Forestclan cats and not a Shadeclan patrol waiting to tear open her unborn kits. Padding forward her eyes grew at the amount of injury that each clan member suffered. Finding Mintyheart her worry subsided, only to be replaced when her eyes fell on the wound on his neck. "What happened?" She breathed, rushing forward.

"I'm fine. Some dumb flea ball thought he'd send me to Starclan but I couldn't miss the birth of the kits." He mewed softly as he touched her ear with his nose.

"You need to see Peppernose. Right now!"

"I will once I know you are settled in your nest. I'll tell you about the battle."

"Did we win?" Panic flickered in her eyes.

"Yes." Mintyheart mewed proud fully. Maplefur slipped into the nursery and Mintyheart followed. Before he entered he looked back at the camp. Peppernose had just arrived and headed for his den to get ready for all the injuries he would be faced with soon. Wounded warriors filed in and plopped down in the camp, waiting for Peppernose to give them the signal. Palepaw and Shimmerpaw sat in the middle of the clearing waiting for their littermate to arrive. Echopaw entered and headed straight for her den at a brisk run. Skypool padded towards Shimmerpaw and Palepaw and licked the tops of their heads, comforting them as well as her. Blazingstar and Icecloud were then last to enter, with Foxpaw draped across their backs. From Mintyheart's side a yowl rang out. Spinning his head he saw Spiceheart padding forward.

"Who was that?" Maplefur meowed.

"I'll be right back." Turning, Mintyheart jogged towards the center of the camp.

"Wha-what? Foxpaw! Foxpaw! Get up! What!" screeched Spiceheart. She nosed her young apprentice, willing her body to turn warm and to laugh, full of life. She turned on Peppernose, "do something!" she spat. At least Peppernose had the decency to lower his eyes, all the while Echopaw was glaring at him, while he said, "she's dead. You call yourself a medicine cat?! And you!" she turned on Echopaw. "You were supposed to help him! Why in Starclan weren't you by her side? You're sisters!" The pain showed on Echopaw's face.

"Spiceheart-" started Winterstorm. She snapped her neck over to where Winterstorm stood by Skypool. Completely disregarding Winterstorm, she lashed out at Skypool: "You were supposed to be my replacement! You were supposed to watch out for her! She's YOUR daughter -" Skypool's whole body was trembling.

"Spiceheart!" Winterstorm growled. "It's no one's fault. Not yours, not Echopaw's, not Skypool's-"

"Oh, no, you're wrong, Winterstorm." She spun around, a few tail-lengths from Blazingstar. "It's your fault," she whispered to her leader. Blazingstar's eyes were clouded with sadness. "You ordered me to stay in camp, to protect what? A few cats already on their way to StarClan and a crazy queen! And you ordered a cat that was made an apprentice not even a moon ago to go into battle! She was basically a kit! You're a worse leader than Patchstar! No - you're not even a leader! A leader would never send in a cat that young and that inexperienced. Nor would a leader leave me behind to protect nothing! And there was like no chance of anything happening here anyways! Foxpaw's death is all your fault!" she wailed, and then sprang at Blazingstar, claws extended, a wail in her throat, and the most insane, obsessed, and deadly look on her face.

Instead of landing on a stunned Blazingstar, she was knocked aside by a miraculously fast Bluefrost. Half of Bluefrost's pelt was off of him, and the rest of it was more red than blue, with one of his eyes swollen shut. Spiceheart landed on her side and rolled to her feet, spitting and hissing something furious. The two stared each other off, both growling. Then Spiceheart glanced at her clanmates and saw that most of them were looking at her apprehensively. She yowled and ran off into the woods.

"Thank you, Bluefrost," spoke Blazingstar softly, glancing at the dried blood that coated his deputy. He flicked his tail at Peppernose to look at Bluefrost first as the latter collapsed out of exhaustion onto the dirt. Blazingstar then started walking after Spiceheart, trying to pick up her scent.

"Whoa there..." Mintyheart stopped Blazingstar. The two friends looked at each other and Mintyheart saw that Blazingstar was torn up about Foxpaw's death and Spiceheart's words and reaction. "You really think it's a good idea to go chasing down a she-cat who wants to rip you to shreds?" Mintyheart shook his head.

"I can't just leave her wandering around the forest!"

"Let me go. I know her better than you. She's not just dealing with Foxpaw's death; Juniperpaw's dying all over for her right now."

"... Fine."

"Don't worry. I'll bring her back." Blazingstar grunted in reply, and turned back to mourn and heal with his clanmates.


	7. Chapter 7

"Come on," urged Winterstorm. "Let's pay our last respects." And he ever so gently nudged Skypool with his nose.

"Not so fast, Winterstorm," growled Peppernose. And to the rest of the clan, he said, "all of you need to be attended to. Then you can say your last words to Foxpaw. I'll start with you, Bluefrost. Echopaw, can you fetch me more cobwebs from my den?"

Echopaw looked up from kneeling by her sister in astonishment. "What?"

"I'll go get some, Peppernose!" chirped Palepaw, who was surprisingly full of life. But Peppernose didn't hear him because he was already in that medicine cat zone. Winterstorm looked over Skypool. "You're wounds aren't that bad. Let's go see Foxpaw, unless it's too much." Skypool's eyes were incredibly blank, and didn't respond to him. Winterstorm lightly brushed his tail against her flank and padded over to Peppernose.

"Can you give anything for Skypool?"

"Are her wounds bad? I'll see to her after Bluefrost."

"I meant for her heart," explained Winterstorm softly.

Peppernose frowned. "What's wrong with it?" Winterstorm twitched his tail, but before he could respond, Palepaw stumbled out of the medicine cat's den, completely covered in cobwebs, the strands stuck to his pelt.

"Is th-this enough, P-p-pepp -ppernose?" asked Palepaw. Peppernose hissed something about incompetence before twitching his tail, motioning for Palepaw to stand near him so he could peel of the webs and stick them on Bluefrost. He shot a glance to his left and saw that Winterstorm had left him and returned to Skypool, gently licking her pelt.

"Peppernose, guess what?" Peppernose swung his head over to Palepaw, and saw that there was a spark in his pale green eyes that was never there. "I'm alive."

"Clearly," commented Peppernose.

"No-oo—really. I'm alive. I just, I'm so alive. I'm not d-dead! Can you believe it, Peppernose?!"

"Hardly."

"I mean—"

"Shut up and let me work. Or you won't be saying that you're alive anymore, got it?"

Blazingstar had already paid his respects to Foxpaw and was sitting outside of his den, waiting for Spiceheart and Mintyheart to return. They had won the battle, but there were loses. Foxpaw's death; the clan was diminished because of that. Skypool, Echopaw, and Spiceheart would all be affected by her death. Bluefrost's wounds would take a few moons to fully recover. In fact, every cat looked worse for wear, including himself. He would never admit it, but his own body was sore and stiff. He then heard some padding of feet and he looked up to see Mintyheart come into the clearing, quickly followed by Spiceheart. A sense of relief flooded him. He stood up to make his way towards them, but then he saw Mintyheart shake his head and come over to him.

"I brought her back, but…"

Blazingstar glanced at Spiceheart, who glared furiously at him before so obviously turning her back on him, her shoulder jutted out, and going to share tongues with Foxpaw.

"… I never said anything about her liking you," finished Mintyheart. "Just give her some time. But I'm pretty sure she won't attack you anymore."

"Great. How do you think I can mend things with her?"

Mintyheart thought a moment. "I think mostly time will heal her. But you know she won't ever really get over Foxpaw's death? She's still not over Juniperpaw's. Then again, they were sisters." He paused. "You know, sometimes I can still hear Juniperpaw's laugh. Heh, those two were the life of ForestClan sometimes. They were so light-hearted, even though everything was so bleak." Mintyheart shucked his head. "Look at me. Being sentimental."

"What did you say to her?" asked Blazingstar.

"Oh, I dunno. Just a few choice words."

_Mintyheart occasionally sniffed to make sure that he was on Spiceheart's trail, but he was pretty sure he knew where she was going. A few moments later and he was proved right. Spiceheart was in a little niche. A fallen tree was propped up against a stump creating a little area safe from the elements. _

"_Knew I would find you here."_

_Spiceheart jumped up, fur fluffed out, poised to attack before she realized it was Mintyheart who was speaking. She gave a soft growl before sitting back down and curling up._

"_You always come here when you need to get away. How'd you find this, anyways?"_

_Silence. Then – "Juniperpaw loved to come here. And I showed… I showed Foxpaw, too. And she liked it. And it was our secret. I don't think she even told Echopaw." It was then Mintyheart realized how much Foxpaw meant to Spiceheart, if she showed her something like this.. Then it hit him – Foxpaw _became _Juniperpaw to Spiceheart. _

"_They kind of looked alike didn't they? Foxpaw and Juniperpaw," commented Mintyheart. Spiceheart nodded. "I'm sorry." Spiceheart winced, her eyes scrunched up._

"_I would have given anything – anything!—if it was me instead of Juniperpaw. Same with Foxpaw," murmured Spiceheart. _

"_I'm pretty sure they don't feel that way." Spiceheart looked up at him. _

"_How do you know?"_

"_I can tell that you loved Juniperpaw and Foxpaw very much. Spiceheart, that's who you are. You are full of love. Even when times are bad, you are loving life, loving being alive. There's no one in the clan like you. You never get down about not enough food, or our duties, or battles and wounds. The only time I saw you sad is when Juniperpaw died, and now. And that's when someone you love very much goes away. And honestly, seeing you like this, is just as sad as Foxpaw's death. And I'm sure, that Juniperpaw and Foxpaw up in StarClan are aching because of your sadness, because they want you to be happy."_

"_Shut up! How do you know how Juniperpaw feels!?"_

"_She was my friend too," he replied calmly. She growled in response, but she didn't attack him like she did Blazingstar. "You know it's true; she always wanted you to be happy. Just as you know that it isn't Blazingstar's fault." She unsheathed her claws. "We had to fight ShadeClan. You know that! You even supported Blazingstar in front of all the other warriors! We all knew the risks, even Foxpaw, and especially Blazingstar. Don't blame Blazingstar, and please don't blame yourself." He didn't say anything so she could let it sink in. After some time, Mintyheart said, "Come on, friend. Let's go back to camp and share tongues with Foxpaw." After a moment, Spiceheart nodded and stood up and they slowly padded back to camp._

A cold breeze woke Mintyheart from his sleep. Blinking he looked around him. Most of his clanmates were in their nests. The smell of blood and herbs filled the air. _It smells like Peppernose' den. _Mintyheart thought to himself. Picking his way through the warriors he stepped out into the cold pre-dawn air. Shaking his pelt he was quickly reminded of the battle last night as pain prickled his pelt. Looking out over the camp he saw that Spiceheart, Echopaw, Shimmerpaw, Skypool and Winterstorm had spent the night alongside Foxpaw. The white warrior seemed to be asleep with his pelt pressed against Skypool sharing his warmth with her. Shimmerpaw was sleeping on her paws with her nose in her adopted sister's pelt. Skypool and Spiceheart's eyes were open and clouded with grief, while Echopaw's amber eyes still burned. Palepaw was fast asleep in the apprentice's den, his light golden tail hanging out into the clearing. _He must have been up all night helping Peppernose. I'll wake him when I get back. _Mintyheart mewed to himself. ****

Padding across the camp he saw that the fresh-kill pile was low. Turning he headed towards the camp's entrance. Padding through he found Blazingstar sitting just outside the camp, on guard. **  
**

"Good morning Blazingstar."**  
**

"Going hunting?" Blazingstar asked, sadness billowing out of his golden eyes. **  
**

"Yes." Mintyheart breathed padding over to his leader and sitting at his side. "Don't beat yourself up about Foxpaw. You're not to blame for her death."

"I'm not?" Blazingstar questioned looking into the silver tom's blue eyes. "I was the one who ordered her into battle. Spiceheart was right, she was too young. I'm no better than the cat who was before me." Blazingstar dropped his gaze. **  
**

Mintyheart pressed his pelt closer to his longtime friend. "You didn't force any cat in that battle. We all followed you willingly, Foxpaw included. She may have been young but she was well trained." Silence fell between the two toms till Mintyheart spoke, "In the long run, the clan is much safer and our prey is protected, so our clan will be fed now that leaf-bare is almost here. The pain of her death hurts now but with time the wound will be healed and she will look down and be proud of her clan." **  
**

Blazingstar nodded, silently thanking Mintyheart and held his head high. "The prey won't leap into your paws you know." **  
**

"It will if you're Palepaw." Mintyheart purred as he padded off into the forest. ****

After a light jog Mintyheart stopped and opened his mouth scenting for prey. _It will just be waking _Mintyheart thought. Leaves moved up ahead and the smell of mouse flooded Mintyheart's mouth. Padding silently he glided across the ground, inching closer to the mouse. With a swift leap he ended the mouse's life and thanked Starclan. Suddenly he remembered the black tom who strung him up in a tree and saved his life the night before. _I'll have to hunt a lot today, _He thought, half growling to himself but still slightly eager to see the tom again and ask him about the battle last night. Burying the mouse he set out to find more prey. **  
**

****The black tom lay in his nest of warm hay, woken by the mews of kits not far off. The voice was of their mothers scolding them for being loud and warning them not to come towards his nest. The soft staggering of kits met his ears and the scents of Haze, Thistle, and Tumble drawing closer. **  
**

"Okay, so Boo is sleeping, all we need to do is jump on him." The older kit mewed.**  
**

Haze nodded to Thistle, agreeing with him. "We should all pounce at once." **  
**

"Okay." The little brown she-cat mewed. "One two THREE~!" **  
**

Three sets of tiny claws pricked Boo's thick pelt. Opening his eyes he acted surprised. Rolling over, he sent the kits gently tumbling off him. Icicle padded over, "I'm so sorry Boo." Turning to the kits she scolded, "I told you to leave him alone." **  
**

The kits looked up from where they were they were chasing Boo's black tail. **  
**

"It's okay." Boo yawned. "I needed to get up anyway."**  
**

Icicle didn't look convinced. "Haze, Tumble. Go back by your sister and stay by Thistle's mother."

The kits looked up at her, "But..."**  
**

"Now." She meowed. "I need to talk to Boo a moment." The kits padded off tails drooping, till they saw some hay blowing across the barn and tried to follow it. **  
**

"Did you end up going?" The white she-cat mewed to her brother.**  
**

"I did." **  
**

"Were you right?" **  
**

"Yeah. There was a battle between two of the four clans." The black tom mewed.**  
**

Icicle looked uncomfortable talking about the clans but continued. "So I guess all that worrying and pacing wasn't in vain. Did you find the silver tom?"**  
**

"Yeah, he was in the battle. I helped out a bit." He began to groom his pelt.**  
**

"Oh really. You helped the moonlight dappled cat?"

"Yeah." Boo was surprised by the teasing in her mew. "I mean, he owes me prey. I couldn't let that go to waste." He purred. Standing he shook his groomed pelt. "I'll be back soon."**  
**

"Bring back something." The thin she-cat mewed.Boo flicked his tail in response and padded into the think green pasture grass. ****

The black tom padded through the woods, he didn't know much about the clans but he knew that the clans had territories. He padded thru the pine woods till the woods got denser and the pine trees turned into large leafy oaks. A strong smell of cat met his nose, _This must be a border. _Looking around, he padded into a clump of ferns and disappeared. ****

Mintyheart looked down at his catches. One squirrel, two mice, and a woodpecker. _No bad _He thought. The only problem was that he had to give some away. Well he really didn't have too...but he had promised and he never broke a promise. He hid the squirrel and a mouse and padded towards the Shadeclan border where he last saw Charming. _Being by the border might not be the greatest idea he thought. _As he padded along a sweet scent met his nose. Turning he spotted Charming padding out of some ferns. His sleek black fur catching the sun's rays. Mintyheart dropped the prey lightly on the leaves below. "Hello Charming." He mewed. **  
**

"Hello Mintyheart." The black tom mewed, meeting the silver tom's blue eyes. **  
**

"Thanks for last night." Mintyheart mewed under his breath. **  
**

"You're welcome. That tom was out of line." Letting his golden eyes wander over Mintyheart's pelt, taking note of every scratch. **  
**

"How did you get in the Shadeclan camp?" Mintyheart questioned, sitting down. **  
**

" Well I went for a walk in the woods because I had this weird feeling that something was going that night. Then I found a scent trail of you and cats that smelled like you on this side of the scent markers." He twitched his tail towards Shadeclan's territory. "So I followed your scent to their camp and hide in the shadows and watched you fight." He looked down all of a sudden. "I don't mean sound creepy, but you're an impressive fighter. The only reason that other tom had a chance was that he didn't seem to be fighting with the same respect as you were."

"That's cause he wasn't fighting according to the warrior code." Mintyheart mumbled under his breath. **  
**

"What's the warrior code?" **  
**

Mintyheart looked up at Charming, seeing the interest sparkle in his sunray eyes. "It governs how the clans live. How we hunt, fight, set up camps, cats roles, and Starclan."**  
**Charming's eyes glittered.**  
**

"For example, I'm a warrior of Forestclan. Because of this there is certain ways I do things. Like in battle the goal isn't to kill the other cat, only get your point across. And when hunting, we don't eat the prey right after we catch it. We take it back to the clan and make sure they are fed before feeding yourself." **  
**

The black tom nodded, "It's all new to me but it makes perfect sense. You all look after each other. I think that's a great way to live."**  
**

A purr rumbled in Mintyheart. He liked sharing information about what clan cats really were. **  
"**The little ginger cat that was injured badly. Did she make it?"

"No." Mintyheart's head dropped. "She hunts with Starclan now. She was my friend Spiceheart's apprentice."**  
**

"I'm sorry." Charming mewed softly. "It must be hard on a clan losing a cat." He placed his tail in Mintyheart flank and was happily surprised when the silver tom didn't flinch away. **  
**

"It is." Mintyheart let his mind wander to Skypool, Spiceheart, and Echopaw. _I can't imagine. _**  
**

After some silence Charming asked, "An apprentice is a warrior in training then?"**  
**

"Yes," he said, his trance broken. "When a kit is 6 moons old they become an apprentice and train under a warrior, their mentor, till they have all the skills and understanding of the code, and then the leader gives them their new name."**  
**

"Do you have an apprentice?"**  
**

"I do. His name is Palepaw. He was the light ginger fighting close to me."**  
**

"He was fast. Do you like being a mentor?"

"I do." Mintyheart purred. "Palepaw is my first apprentice but I love it. He's a bit timid but he will be a great warrior someday. He'll make his clan proud." **  
**

"With you as his mentor I'm sure he'll do far more then make them proud." **  
**

Mintyheart's ice blue eyes stared into the black tom's, "Thank you. Here is your prey. Better take it back before it gets cold." Mintyheart stood and shook his pelt. **  
**

Watching the clan cat shake sent chills up Charming's spin. _This tom is special. I could sit here, talking to him for moons and not even notice time pass. I wonder if he feels the same? _**"**So I'll see you tomorrow morning then." Charming ventured, twitching his tail tip.**  
**

"Yeah. I'll get the rest of your prey, Charming." Mintyheart was surprised by the coolness in his voice. He had enjoyed talking with the pitch black tom. **  
**

"Thanks for telling me about your clan's ways. I think it's really interesting." Charming mewed softly.**  
**

"You're welcome. I enjoyed it too. Better come with more questions tomorrow or I might lose interest in you Charming," Mintyheart teased, flicking his tail playfully. "And be careful around Shadeclan. They aren't the friendly type and I'd hate that pelt of yours to lose its glossy look." Concern and play mixed in his meow. ****

Turning Mintyheart padded towards his other prey. glancing back he saw Charming picking up his prey. Their eyes met. Turning away quickly Mintyheart jogged over to his buried prey. _That tom is distracting...in a good way._Mintyheart purred to himself. Still, Mintyheart could shake the feeling that he was supposed to be doing something. _I hunted for the clan...I'll take Palepaw out when I get back... _Pain in his lungs made the silver tom stop and lick at his side. _Stupid rib._Mintyheart hissed. Picking up the prey he continued. It wasn't till he was heading down the slope near the camp that he remembered, _I was supposed to meet with Featherstep..._He paused. Charming had taken up more time than he thought..._Featherstep will be fine. I'll see him at a gathering soon anyway. Besides, he's a Meadowclan cat...there could never be anything between us. _**  
**

_"But I'm a rogue." _Charming's mew sounded in his head. **  
**

"_Yeah, but I'm only bringing you prey because you blackmailed from me."_Mintyheart silently retorted.


	8. Chapter 8

Charming's fiery eyes burned in Mintyheart's thoughts as he entered camp. Foxpaw's body was gone, which means Heavystep and Elderleaf were taking her to her final resting place. Dropping his prey off, he padded towards the apprentice's den. **  
**

"Palepaw." **  
**

The little tom's head poked out followed by the rest of him. He looked surprisingly awake, although Mintyheart couldn't stifle a purr at Palepaw's inside out ear. Flicking him over the head with his tail he fixed his apprentice's ear. "Are you ready to go out?"**  
**

"Y-y-yes!" A twinge of excitement in his mew.**  
**

This battle was good for Palepaw's moral. "Great. I was thinking that...OUCH!" **  
**

Hissing he turned to see who had jabbed him is his sore rib. Peppernose sat a whisper away. "I knew it." He hissed.**  
**

"You knew what? That jagging at a cat will get your whiskers clawed?"**  
**

"Why didn't you tell me you hurt your rib when I looked over you last night?" Peppernose growled.**  
**

"It's not bad." Mintyheart retorted.**  
**

Peppernose, like lightning, jabbed Mintyheart again, making the young warrior yowl. "Correction. It doesn't hurt unless you jab at it." Mintyheart growled softly. **  
**

"Get to my den. You need fresh cobwebs and marigold on your wounds as well."**  
**

"I was taking Palepaw out..."**  
**

"My den. Now." The black tom padded away.**  
**

Hissing Mintyheart turned to Palepaw. "Get something to eat. I'll be back in a moment."**  
**

****Echopaw tossed and turned as she tried to sleep. She had stayed awake all night beside her sister and now the elders had taken her away. She kept thinking about her sister's death and what she should have done differently in order for her sister to still be alive. _I should have been the one out there. I wish Starclan would have taken me and not her. _She closed her eyes. Slowly exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep. But her sleep was troubled. She opened her eyes and she was in a forest that she had never seen before. Gray mist hid most things from her vision. Padding forward she saw what looked to be sunrays at the end of a path. Squinting to see farther through the mist she could just make out the silhouette of a cat padding towards her through the sunlight's beams. "Echopaw" She heard from up ahead. The voice too good to be true, belonged to her sister. Pain filled Echopaw's mind at her dead sister's mew and she shuttered away. Hissing she turned pelting blindly through the haze. _Was the cat following her a Starclan cat? Where they going to punish her for not saving her sister. _**  
**

Blinking her eyes open she found herself in her nest. _It was only a dream she thought. _Looking over her eyes fell on Foxpaw's empty nest. Rising, she padded over and laid in Foxpaw's nest. Drinking in her sister's sweet scent she fell asleep again. Only to be woken, moments later, by the same dream. Seeing Shimmerpaw was asleep in her nest she moved closer to her adopted sister. Letting their pelts touch she heard a purr rumble out of Shimmerpaw as she welcomed Echopaw's closeness. Closing her eyes she let sleep take her once more. Moments passed and like the two times before Echopaw woke, wide eyed from the same misty dream. Hissing she left the den and padded into the clearing. The air was cooler but the sun's rays still warmed her pelt. Sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws she stared off into space. Thinking back to the times of her and Foxpaw in the nursery. ****

Surprise filled Echopaw as she felt a tail gently stroking her flank. Looking over, she met the gaze of her sister's mentor Spiceheart. **  
**

"I know what you're going through." The warrior mewed with sorrow and compassion in her eyes far beyond her years. "I know what it's like to lose a littermate."**  
**

Echopaw had never met Spiceheart's sister but she had heard about the she-cat and knew that she had died not long ago as an apprentice. The two she-cats sat in grief over Foxpaw. One had lost an apprentice the other a sister.**  
**

"I can't sleep." Echopaw mewed so quiet that a mouse wouldn't hear her. Spiceheart nodded in agreement. Her eyes were glazed with pain and sleeplessness. "I'm going to get a poppy seed from Peppernose. I'll bring you one." Echopaw padded to the medicine cat's den. She was mostly over the anger she felt towards the black medicine cat, but she still wasn't convinced there was nothing he could have done to save Foxpaw. **  
**

"Peppernose." She called. "I can't sleep. Can I have a poppy seed?"For a moment Peppernose stared at her, grumbled, and then disappeared into his den. "I need one for Spiceheart and Skypool too." She called after him. Looking over she saw that Bluefrost was asleep in one of the nest in the medicine cat den. _I bet that was a struggle. I can't imagine trying to get Bluefrost to sit still. But they are brothers, _she reminded herself. _Still, I bet Peppernose has his knocked out with some kind of herb. _**  
**

When he returned he came back with 8 seeds. "Eat four and take the others in this leaf to Spiceheart. I already bought some to Skypool." His voice was smoother than normal as if there was a hint of compassion for the little apprentice. Echopaw licked up her seeds and dropped off the leaf and seeds to Spiceheart who was still sitting on the edges of camp. Seeing that Skypool and curled up outside of the warriors den under some ferns, she padded over. Winterstorm was sitting next to her mother as if on guard. Nodding to Echopaw he padded off to join Sunstone and Blazingstar for a border patrol. Lying next to her mother's belly she felt Skypool stir. Her mother let out a soft purr as she began to lick her daughter between the ears. The rhythmic licking was healing for both of them. Soon Echopaw was fast asleep and in the misty forest. When the dream came to its normal end, it had felt like only minutes had passed. But when Echopaw had opened her eyes it was sunhigh. Skypool was still at her side and had a worried look on her face.**  
**

"You didn't sleep well did you?" Her mother asked.**  
**

"No. I keep having dreams."**  
**

"It's understandable. It will be hard for a while." Skypool rose to her paws. "I'm going to go out into the forest with Icecloud and Winterstorm. I need to get out of camp. You can join us if you want."**  
**

"Echopaw shook her head. She didn't feel like it right now. Nodding Skypool padded off towards the toms. Echopaw was giving herself a nice grooming when Peppernose padded by. **  
**

"Did you sleep well?" He asked**  
**

"I slept, but not well." Echopaw muttered back.**  
**

Peppernose stopped and looked at her curiously. "And why not?"**  
**

"I keep having this same dream over and over."**  
**

"What kind of dream?" He asked, vaguely interested. **  
**

"I'm in this strange woods and there is mist everywhere and then this cat starts padding towards me and I run." Echopaw meowed quickly. **  
**

"Do you know the cat?"**  
**

"No. I don't stay long enough to know. I don't want my ears clawed!" **  
**

"If you happen to dream that dream again, stay and find out who the cat is. Maybe Starclan is trying to tell you something." And with a flick of his tail Peppernose padded off towards Maplefur. ****

As twilight was settling over the camp most of the cats were in the camp, looking tired from the busy day. Half the clan was too wounded to do their duties and the other half of the clan was exhausted from doing double duties. The borders had been quiet today and the fresh-kill pile was not as full as normal. Bluefrost sat by Blazingstar and Icecloud, talking quietly with each other. Winterstorm was sharing a thrush with Skypool. Mintyheart had convinced Maplefur to come outside and was sharing a rabbit with her and Palepaw. Heavystep was munching on two mice while talking with Elderleaf about the weather. Adderfang sat alone under a bush listening intently to what his brother was talking about. Sunstone was padding into camp while Echopaw and Shimmerpaw shared a mouse by the apprentices den. **  
**

Yawning Echopaw turned to Shimmerpaw. "I think I'm going to go to bed early." The run Shimmerpaw and her went on was great getting her mind off things but also tried her out. **  
**

Shimmerpaw nodded. "I'll be right in." **  
**

Echopaw curled up and didn't even hear when Shimmerpaw came into the den. As soon as her head touched her moss bedding she was dreaming. **  
**

_Not again. _She mumbled as her eyes opened to the foggy woods. Just as before she saw the silhouette of a cat padding forwards. Just as she was about to dash off she remembered Peppernose's words. **"**_...stay and find out who the cat is. Maybe Starclan is trying to tell you something." _**  
**

As the cat came closer she started to notice that it's paws where glittering like the stars. _This is a Starclan cat. _She thought. The cat padded closer till she could make out it's ginger and white pelt. Then it hit her, the cat padding towards her was Foxpaw! Dashing forward she shoved her nose in her sister's fur, breathing in her familiar scent. "Foxpaw!" She mewed releasing her,

"You look stunning! And your paws, they are twinkling!" **  
**

"Starclan has its perks." Foxpaw replied. "I've missed you."

"I can't bear not having you with me!" **  
**

"I will always be with you." Foxpaw draped her tail over Echopaw. "I will walk in your dream and live on in your heart." **  
**

Echopaw blinked at her. "But..." Echopaw stammered. "I don't want to be a warrior alone...we were supposed to be warriors together." **  
**

"You won't be a warrior alone." Foxpaw mewed.**  
**

"I know. Shimmerpaw and Palepaw will be warriors too but they are a bit older then us and it still won't be the same. I wanted to have you right next to be in the naming ceremony." **  
**

"That's not what I meant." Foxpaw mewed gently. "Your destiny isn't to be a warrior at all. Know that I'm in Starclan and have seen parts what lies ahead of you, it all makes sense. We were both part of something bigger then ourselves. Skypool was given a prophecy of hope when Patchstar ruled and now my death all point to one thing." **  
**

"Wait, it was Starclan's wish that you die and I be left alone to suffer on without you." Echopaw hissed.**  
**

"Sort of." Foxpaw's mew was soothing. "My death will help point you to wear you should be. If I was alive still, we both would have continued our training and became warriors, and you have a calling greater than that." She pressed her muzzle into her sister's pelt. "I must go now."**  
**

"No, please don't!" You didn't tell me what I am supposed to be!" Echopaw called as her sister's imagine began to fade.**  
**

"I can't tell you. You must find out for yourself. If you feel lost seek guidance." ****

Blinking her eyes open Echopaw found herself feeling rested and in her warm den with Shimmerpaw and Palepaw close by. Sitting up and grooming her pelt she went over her dream in her head. She had always wanted to be a warrior but now the idea that she was meant to be something else intrigued her. _Well I don't plan on being a Queen anytime soon. _She purred to herself as she left the den and curled up to finish her grooming in the dawn sun's rays. _Or an Elder. I can't be leader unless I was deputy. And I can't be deputy unless I'm a warrior. Which I'm told I'm not supposed to be. _She felt a great comfort in seeing her sister again. _She might not be able to be at my side here within the clan. But she will never leave my heart. I will be the best whatever I'm meant to be for her. _Sunstone's mew broke her trance. **  
**

"Are you ready to get back to your apprentice duties now?" There was an edge in Sunstone's mew but Echopaw chose to ignore it. She was still in bliss of seeing Foxpaw again. Standing she shook her pelt nodding to the sandy she-cat. Sunstone turned and padded out of camp with Echopaw following behind. **  
**

"We will be hunting today. You will be going out alone and I'll track you and see how you are doing. My goal is to get you good enough to be made warriors with Shimmerpaw and Palepaw. I mean, getting past Palepaw will be a breeze, but I will be pushing you even harder in order to get past Shimmerpaw." **  
**

Echopaw rolled her eyes. _Sometimes I think Sunstone is just as crazy as Maplefur. _She purred to herself. Turning she padded into the woods and sat near the twisted roots of a huge oak. _Prey will just walk right into my paws. _As she sat her mind wandered... _What am I supposed to be Foxpaw? We were going to be warriors, we always wanted that. I'm good at hunting and love learning battle moves. I don't want to give that up. _**  
**

"_What about your interest in herbs and healing," _An unknown voice of a tom sounded in her head._What about it!? I'm not a medicine cat apprentice. Besides, Peppernose won't take an apprentice for moons and medicine cat apprentices get chosen by Starclan through signs and omens. _Looking out she realized that two mice were out near the tree. _Great, now Sunstone will think I have bees in my brain. _Padding forward she chose the mouse farther out, and harder to reach. The mouse was nibbling on some plant and had no idea that the spotted brown she-cat padded closer and closer. Jumping into the air she killed it with a swift bite to the neck. As she breathed in the sweet smell of the mouse she was overwhelmed by the scent of juniper. Looking up she saw that the mouse had been nibbling on a juniper berry. Flicking her head from side to side she looked for a juniper bush but found none. _This is odd. _She thought. _There are not juniper bushes around here. She recognized the scent of the berry and knew it was used for snake bites to draw out the poisons. _Echopawflinched. _What are the odds that the mouse I catch, is eating the herb that Spiceheart, my sister's mentor, had a sister named after. _Shaking her head she picked up her mouse and padded forward. _I'm not called to be a medicine cat. That wasn't any kind of omen anyway. _As she padded along briskly Echopaw's paws become tangled and she fell into the bushes. Shaking off her pelt, not covered in leave scraps, she thought, w_hat's wrong with me today? I never trip over..._a scent pricked her nose. She couldn't define what it was but she had smelled it before...but where? Abandoning her mouse she opened her mouth to get a better smell. Locating the smell she looked at the plant. She had smelled the plant before when she helped Peppernose the night of the battle. It was called Feverfew and it was used to sooth scratches. _Why am I running into all these herbs? _**  
**

Just then Sunstone appeared. "What are you doing?! You left your prey just sitting in the open! And now I find you with your nose stuck in some plant! I know you lost your sister but that's no excuse to forget what you've been taught!" The she-cat's eyes burned with anger. **  
**

Echopaw stared at her, eyes wide. "I knew that Foxpaw was going to die." She whispered.**  
**

"What are you mumbling about?!"

"I knew Foxpaw was going to die." **  
**

Sunstone looked confused at her apprentice. **  
**

Echopaw continued, "I had a dream of a dead fox along the path towards the Shadeclan border. Starclan sent me a dream...an omen." Turning Echopaw pelted off towards camp.**  
**

"What are you mewing about?!" Sunstone called after her. "You left your mouse again!" Scooping it up, she dashed after the little she-cat. ****

Echopaw raced into camp nearly knocking over Adderfang, who let out a fierce hiss as she passed. _I have to find Skypool! If the prophecy she was given moons ago matches what I think then I'll do it. _Echopaw vowed to herself. _You hear that Starclan? If this is what you want you better make it clear or I'm going to become a warrior. _She pelted to where her mother sat with Winterstorm. Skypool's eyes clouded with worried as Echopaw ran up, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong Echopaw?" She mewed.**  
**

"I need to talk to you about something...alone." **  
**

Winterstorm ducked his head and padded away, calling back his farewell to the two she-cats.**  
**

"Tell me the prophecy Starclan told you moons ago." Echopaw mewed directly.

Surprise flooded Skypool's face as she wondered how her kit had found out what she told no cat. Wrapping her tail around her paw she looked deeply into Echopaw's glowing eyes. This was important to her somehow. "There was a time in my life that all I wanted to do was join Starclan and end my life here with the clans. I had been through so much pain that I could no longer bear it. Everything I had ever loved was taken from me. My brother, my sister, your father. They were all ripped from me." Her eyes clouded as if she was reliving every moment. "I didn't want to live. Starclan sent me a dream. A cat told me, **"**_You must take your love for your clan and pass it down, give what you wish you could have done." _I didn't know what I was pregnant with you and Foxpaw at the time but as time passed I learned. The two of you renewed my will to live." She purred as she blinked at her daughter.**  
**

"What did you wish you could have done?" Echopaw mewed. Her voice shaking. **  
**

"I wish I could have saved every one of them. My littermates, my clanmates, and your father." She murmured.

Echopaw pressed her muzzle into her mother's neck. _I accept, Starclan. I will be a medicine cat. _****

Skypool's eyes glittered as she watched her daughter race across the clearing, flicking her tail in amusement as Sunstone entered and called after Echopaw.

"What are you doing now! Get back here! Echopaw! Blazingstar will hear about this!" **  
**

Echopaw twitched her tail back and forth at Sunstone as she disappeared into Peppernose's den. Peppernose looked up at her, "Do you need something?" He growled.**  
**

"Yes. I need you to train me to be a medicine cat."

"Absolutely not," snorted Peppernose.

"It's what StarClan wants!" exclaimed Echopaw.

"And I'm a rabbit," he retorted. Echopaw growled.

"Fine! I'll go talk to Blazingstar, and he'll make you train me!" and she stormed out.

"There you are! What do you think you're doing?" spat Sunstone, clearly furious, but Echopaw ignored her and raced over to Blazingstar where he was discussing something with Icecloud.

"Blazingstar, Blazingstar!" called Echopaw, a few steps from where the two warriors sat. "I need to be trained as a medicine cat!"

The leader cocked his head to one said, considering the small apprentice. "Oh? That's a big decision, Echopaw."

"Typically Starclan will send us a sign on who the next medicine cat will be. And it probably won't be for quite a few moons, as Peppernose is still young and healthy," added Icecloud, but Echopaw was shaking her head.

"I HAVE received signs from StarClan! Foxpaw walked in my dreams and more or less told me that I need to be the next medicine cat. She said she had to die in order for me to find my destiny!"

Icecloud looked at her with concern. "Maybe you should go see Peppernose, and –"

"I already did, and he turned me down! You have to let me do this!" she interrupted, while Icecloud let out a small hiss. "Sorry."

"I meant maybe he can give you some poppy seeds to help you get over the grief of your sister." Echopaw stared at the senior warrior. "Blazingstar, you've got to believe me! I knew she was going to die! StarClan sent me a dream before the battle," she said hysterically. Blazingstar hesitated.

"Blazingstar," Icecloud mewed. Blazingstar didn't say anything for a moment. "Would you mind giving us a moment?" he asked Icecloud, who nodded and padded away.

"Tell me about your dreams."

Echopaw took a deep breath before plunging into what had happened to her in the past few days, including the dream about the dead fox. Blazingstar didn't say anything but nodded a few times in encouragement.

"Do you believe me?" she asked hesitantly.

"I do," mewed Blazingstar simply. "Let's go talk to Peppernose." Leader and apprentice padded towards the medicine cat's den.

"Peppernose?" Blazingstar mewed softly. The two took a few more steps and then they saw Peppernose – asleep, but rather uneasily. Echopaw flattened her ears. "I've only been gone a moment!"

"I expect he's tired from treating everybody's wounds. Let's leave him be and come back later. There's a patrol I wanted to join anyways. Why don't you go hunting with Shimmerpaw? I'm sure Winterstorm won't be taking her out today anyway." When Echopaw frowned at the suggested, Blazingstar purred: "Medicine cats need to know how to hunt, you know. And then by the time you get back, we can talk to him, and hope that he's in a good mood." Echopaw purred, flicked her tail, and ran off to find her friend.

Blazingstar could hear Bluefrost's low mew from outside the warrior's den. He realized that he must have moved back in from the medicine cat's den, but he knew that he was in no shape to do anything other than sleep and bark out orders.

"…Yes, I suppose that's alright, Winterstorm. But try and get some rest, because I want you for the night watch guard." Winterstorm nodded and went back to sit down next to Skypool, and gently started grooming her. "Adderfang and Icecloud did the dawn patrol. So then I want Sunstone to take Mintyheart and Palepaw on another patrol, on the MeadowClan border, not the ShadeClan. Got that Sunstone? Oh, put a mouse in it. Then Spiceheart – you can take Echopaw and Shimmerpaw out hunting."

"Actually, sorry to interrupt, Bluefrost, but I just sent Echopaw and Shimmerpaw off hunting together. So I think I'll go hunting with Spiceheart, then."

"Uhh," he cleared his throat. Deputies didn't say "uhh"! "Are you sure? Wouldn't you rather go on a patrol and check up on the border—"

"No. I really fancy a hunting patrol right now!" he said cheerfully. Spiceheart glared at him. Bluefrost glared at him too. _So much for keeping those two apart. _Bluefrost tried to shrug, but his injured shoulder wouldn't quite let him. "Well, you're the leader." And he flicked his tail, signaling everyone to go about their duties, and hoped that Spiceheart had her head screwed on tight.

Back in the medicine cat's den, Peppernose was having an uncomfortable dream. He was walking in the woods. He knew it was ForestClan woods, but he didn't recognize any of it. All around him were voices whispering "Echo… echo… echo…." And their voices were, of course, echoing. Eventually Peppernose ran into a cat, Littlecloud, the ForestClan medicine cat before him and Peppernose's mentor.

"Littlecloud?" he asked.

"Can't you hear the echo, Peppernose?"

"Echo?" and he heard his own echo.

Peppernose jolted awake, his fur on end. He was gasping for breath and sweating. _Echos…_ he thought.


	9. Chapter 9

The mini hunting patrol wasn't pleasant, to say the least. Normally, as the leader and senior warrior, Blazingstar would have taken the lead, but Spiceheart seemed oh so keen to stay at least a few tail lengths ahead of him. He made a few efforts to catch up to her, but she determinedly sped up every time he did.

Finally, he just laid it all out there: "You know, I miss Foxpaw, too." She didn't reply. "Everyone knew the risks of a battle, including Foxpaw, including you! And especially me. Every cat, every warrior was prepared to lay down their lives in order to ensure a better future for the Clan."

She spun around, fur fluffed up. "Don't give me that dog scat, Blazingstar! If you were trying to better ensure the future of ForestClan you would have sent me into battle and left Foxpaw to defend camp!"

"Someone responsible needed to be left at camp."

"So you led someone irresponsible into battle?" she spat back.

"No, that's not what I meant—"

She turned to leave, fed up with this conversation, but Blazingstar stepped in front of her. She kept on trying to get away, but he kept on blocking her way. After her fourth or fifth try she growled and lunged at him, claws unsheathed, and hissing with anger. She nicked his left ear and the side of his face, and a relatively small amount of blood dripped onto the forest floor. Eyes wide with shock, Spiceheart slowly backed away. Once she was a few tail-lengths, she turned and dove into the brush.  
Blazingstar shook his head, blood splashing off. He sat down, licked his paw to clean his face. _Well… that went well, he thought._

The sun beat down overhead as Charming padded through the trees. It was getting closer to Leaf Fall and the forest was filled with color. _Mintyheart is so lucky to live out here. _He purred to himself. Padding over to a large maple tree he crouched down among the roots. The silver warrior would be meeting him at sun high. Glancing up, he saw that he was a bit early. Closing his eyes his mind wandered as he breathed in the scents of the forest.

Charming's eyes flew open as the silver warrior flicked him in the side with his tail. _I didn't even hear him. _Mintyheart twitched his whiskers in amusement of the black tom's surprise.

"Are you ready, Charming?" Mintyheart asked. He stretched up onto the tree, arching his back, and dug his claws into the bark. His muscles flexed as chips of bark fell onto the ground.

Charming stared at the silver tom. _He's so dazzling. _Charming thought. "Ready for what?" Charming mewed as he regained control of his thoughts.

"I thought I'd take you hunting with me. You've asked so many questions about a warrior life, so I thought I'd just show you."

"I would love that. When do we start?"

"Well we can't hunt here." Mintyheart looked around. "We'll have to go off clan territory. We'll go to the edge of Forestclan territory. It's by two-leg's dens. There is a stripe of forest we don't claim over there." Mintyheart started off and flicked his tail. "Follow me."

Charming fell into place behind Mintyheart, his sleek pelt still showed the marks of the battle with Shadeclan. Mintyheart's brisk jog and the confidence he possessed in the forest, sent sparks of admiration through Charming.

The strong scent of clan cats filled Charming's nose, _we must be crossing the border. _Mintyheart halted and tasted the air. There were the scents of prey out here, but not as much as in the forest. The flutter of wings filled his ears and warned of a bird's approach. Rearing up, the cats spotted the spot the robin had landed. Sitting down, Mintyheart turned to the jet black tom, "It's all yours Charming."

Nodding the black tom crouched down and began to pad towards the bird. Placing his paws as carefully as he could among the leaves. The snap of a twig under the leaves made the bird lift its head. Charming stood motionless and the bird continued pecking a worm from the ground. Inching closer, and now within pouncing range, Charming sat back preparing for the attack. A dried leaf crinkle under his paw and alerted the bird, sending it off into the trees. Charming hissed as he watched it fly off. _Great. All I wanted to do was impress Mintyheart and I end up scaring the prey away. _He looked down at the dead leaves at his paws. _It's these dumb leaves _he thought. _If this was hay, I could have stalked within whisker distance of a mouse. He probably thinks I'm as dumb as the kitty-pets he hates too much._

As Mintyheart padded over he couldn't help but see the disappointment in Charming's golden eyes. "Bad luck" he mewed. Charming nodded slowly as if he wasn't convinced. "That's the problem with Leaf-fall." Mintyheart continued with an upbeat mew. "The leaves can give you away if you're not used to them." He flicked the black tom with his tail. "Want me to show you my secret?" Charming looked at Mintyheart in surprise. Mintyheart started padding off and then called back, "Turn around so that you can't see me." Charming eyed him warily, but then decided that if he'd die at Mintyheart's paws at least he'd have something pretty to look at.

"Good." Mintyheart's mew came from a distance. "Now here's the rule. You can't turn around till you hear me. Got it? And no peaking, Charming!"

Charming purred and flicked his tail. "Got it." Straining his ears he tried to pick up Mintyheart's paw steps, but he couldn't hear anything. Moments passed and for a moment he thought that the silver tom might have run off, leaving him alone. He was about to turn around and check when soft paws reached his back and he was shoved forward. Turning back he saw the silver tom's coat dancing in the sunlight.

"How do you do that?" Charming breathed. "This area is scattered with leaves and I didn't even hear one paw step."

A purr rumbled deep in Mintyheart. "Lots of practice. And..." He padded closer to the barn cat. "step on the back of your paw. The soft part of your pad will mute the sound. Keep your claws in until you are in the air pouncing and let your weight be perfectly balanced across your paws. " Charming crouched down and did as Mintyheart instructed. He crept forward a few fox lengths before a leave crackled. "Much better." Mintyheart called out as the tom turned at padded towards him. _He would have made a great warrior. _Mintyheart thought to himself. The sound of rustling leaves brought Mintyheart back to reality. A squirrel sat across the clearing, digging up a nut. It was sitting close enough to a tree that Mintyheart thought they could lose it if they were not extremely careful. Glancing over to Charming he saw the same look in his eyes. "I can reach the tree." Charming mewed softly.

"I'll bring it right to you then." The two toms padded softly away, setting up their positions while the squirrel continued to dig, the danger approaching going unnoticed. Mintyheart reached a patch of ferns across from the squirrel and looked out, trying to find his hunting partner. _Where is he?_Mintyheart squinted. A slight bit of movement caught his eye. The twitch of Charming's tail drew Mintyheart to him. Charming's golden eyes burned from up in the tree above the squirrel. Nodding, Mintyheart leapt out of the ferns and pelted towards the squirrel. He was very careful where he placed his paws and he herded the fluffy animal to Charming's tree. Thinking it has escaped the hunter the squirrel pelted up the tree, only to land squarely in Charming's paws. With a quick bite the chase was ended. Charming climbed down and set the squirrel on a patch of moss, "That was a good hunt."

"We make a good team." Mintyheart meowed with admiration. Quickly dropping his gaze he added,

"I guess that's the last piece of prey I owe you. Right, Charming?"

Charming saw his own sadness reflected in Mintyheart's blue eyes. _I don't want this to end. I loved getting to know you and your clan. _Charming wanted to yowl out the words but he knew better. Eyes lighting up he met Mintyheart gaze, "You owe me a mouse, not a squirrel." He purred. "This is not acceptable."

Mintyheart looked up. "Aren't you charming." He purred sarcastically. "Well I better get that mouse then."

The sun was dipping in the sky as the two toms padded back to their usual meeting place. Setting their prey down, Mintyheart turned to Charming. His eyes swept over his sleek black pelt. Near the tom's shoulder was a mat of fur that surrounded a burr. Seeing what Mintyheart's eyes had landed on Charming mew, "Ran into a burr bush chasing that vole."

Mintyheart automatically padded forward and began to work the burr out of Charming's fur. With swift licks and a little pull the burr freed itself.

Charming's golden eyes sparkled as he looked at the warrior. _I can't let him go. _He thought. _He's too perfect. Maybe he feels the same. I mean...he was different today. He wasn't as distance and even took me hunting with him...I have to do something... _

Keeping his composure, Charming turned to Mintyheart, "Well it's only fair,"

"What's only fair?" Mintyheart looked surprised.

"You showed me your life. I should show you mine. Granted," He said with a twinkle in his golden eyes, "It's nothing compared to your glamorous warrior life. But its...how do I say it..._charming..._"

Mintyheart's whiskers twitched with amusement. "That does seem fair." Mintyheart wasn't sure if he wanted to go to a barn but he was sure that he didn't want this to be his last encounter with the charming tom. "When?"

"Tomorrow at dusk?"

"I can't. It will be my turn to guard the camp at night."

"The following day?"

"Well...the morning won't work and I think that Blazingstar is going to be checking on our mentoring by watching Shimmerpaw, Palepaw, and Echopaw's battle training at sunhigh..."  
_Maybe I read him wrong. _Charming thought _Maybe he'd rather be rid of me..._

Seeing the disappointment in Charming's eyes Mintyheart quickly added, "But I think that evening I can sneak away...yes it will. Because the Gathering is the moonhigh after..." Charming's eyes sparked again.

"Meet here when the sun touches the tree tops?"

"I'll find you." Charming purred as he looked at Mintyheart. Dropping his gaze from the glittering warriors he picked up a mouse and disappeared.

"Wait! Don't you want the vole you caught?" Nothing reached Mintyheart's ears. Picking up the prey he headed towards camp. As he approached the camp he stopped and set down the prey. Digging up some of the leaf litter he rolled, trying to hide any scent that might cling to his pelt. Once he was satisfied he padded down the slope and into camp.

Skypool sat with Maplefur and seemed to be telling the queen a comforting story while she fidgeted and licked her belly. Echopaw and Shimmerpaw were sharing tongues while Palepaw was being scolded by Sunstone for something. Looking around camp he saw Spiceheart was eating and grabbing Charming's vole, padded over to her. As he approached she wrinkled her nose and looked at him through squinted eyes.

"Where have you been all day?" She asked.

"Hunting."

"You smell funny."

"You look funny.' Mintyheart batted her ears playfully.

Amusement flickered in her eyes, which made Mintyheart purr. He knew she was still mourning her apprentice but he was happy to see her eyes sparkle again. "He's almost leaf-fall." He mewed.

"Yeah but you smell like leaf-fall attacked you."

"Maybe it did." He flicked his tail and he took a bite of his vole. "Where is Blazingstar?"

"Still out." She murmured.

"Weren't you out with him?"

"Yeah," she growled.

As if called by their conversation, Blazingstar padded into camp and dropped his prey onto the pile. Echopaw quickly dashed over and Blazingstar lead her to his den.

"I wonder what that's about." Mintyheart took another bite. It wasn't long till Echopaw and Blazingstar emerged. Echopaw headed over towards the prey pile while Blazingstar jogged over to Peppernose's den.

Peppernose's legs twitched from his dream. Finally escaping its grasp, he opened his eyes. The smell of herbs mixed with Leaf-Fall wafted around his den.

"Restless sleep?" Blazingstar's meow made Peppernose's eyes widened momentarily. "Were you dreaming?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Yes." Peppernose shook the moss from his pelt. "But it wasn't important. What happened to your face?"

"It's not important." Blazingstar twitched his whiskers, "If you aren't doing anything, than I want to talk to you about Echopaw."

"What about her? Is she hurt?"

"...No. She wants to train to be a medicine cat."

"I don't want a apprentice." Peppernose spat.

"I know. But Starclan might."

"I'm young and healthy. This clan needs warriors not more medicine cats."

"I agree." Blazingstar's mew was level, "But she has a convincing case. Her dreams are filled with Starclan cats..."

"That doesn't mean she's destined to invade my den." Peppernose interrupted.

"Just keep your eyes open." Blazingstar's mew was commanding. "If there are any signs that she is the one, I want to hear about it, and likewise if she's not. I'll pray to Starclan that the choice is obvious and can't be ignored."

_Great._Peppernose lashed his tail as his leader padded out of his den. Just then the ferns rattled and Echopaw's scent bathed in. She dropped a mouse at his paws. He eyed it warily.

"Relax." Echopaw meowed. "I want to be a medicine cat but I need you to train me first. So stuffing your mouse full of Death Berries would be no use to me."

"What are you doing here?" He spat.

"Bringing you a mouse." She spat back. "Don't flatter yourself."

Picking up the mouse he hissed in response and turned to pad away.

"I will be your apprentice." She mewed clearly. "You may have a sharp tongue but Starclan agrees with me. You will get a sign."

Her words echoed throughout his den. Turning he saw the little cat was gone but her words still buzzed in his head.

Fur prickling Echopaw padded across the clearing. Sunstone, spotting her apprentice, started jogging after her. "Echopaw." Sunstone's mew was already accusing.

_Oh great. Just what I need. _Echopaw rolled her eyes and kept padding forward.

"Echopaw!" Sunstone pelted ahead and cut off the spotted she-cat. "What are you doing? Couldn't you hear me calling you?!"

"I have ears." Echopaw sneered.

"Then use them." Sunstone glared at the little she-cat. "I wanted to talk to you about your behavior today. It's as if you had bees in your brain! You let that worthless tom walk all over you!"

"First of all, that tom is my brother. Mintyheart is doing a great job with him and his skills at avoiding strikes are unbelievable. And yeah, I may have bees in my brain. But you know why?" She spat at her stunned mentor, "It's because my sister died within the past few sunrises. Oh yeah,_**and**_I have the huge weight of me and my clans future on my shoulders."

Sunstone looked at the small fuming she-cat for a moment. "You know what? You are just trying to make excuses. Both you and Spiceheart do that. Why is it that I get stuck with the most whiny, full of self-pity apprentices?"

Hissing Echopaw stepped forward, "Well you don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm not going to be your apprentice!"

Sunstone screeched back, "Show your mentor some respect!"

"You're not my mentor!"

"Blazingstar will hear about this! You will not become a warrior until you learn to respect your elders!"

"I do respect my elders. What I don't respect is an arrogant she-cats!" Echopaw was nose to nose with Sunstone.

"You will be stuck in camp for a moon for your behavior!" Sunstone called after the brown she-cat as she padded away. "You are still my apprentice and you will be punished."

"You're NOT my mentor! Peppernose is!"

"What?" Sunstone looked baffled for the first time in their argument.

Padding away, Echopaw became aware that the clearing was silent. All her clanmates eyes were fixed on the two she-cats. She padded along until she felt Shimmerpaw at her side. As she looked back she sees her mother's worried glance as she slowly padded after her.

Peppernose has heard the screeching she-cats and knew that he will not be alone in his den long. A hiss sounded behind him, turning reluctantly he saw Sunstone. Her fur was spiked in anger as she glared at Peppernose.

"What do you think you are doing!? Echopaw is MY apprentice and I will be the one that is her mentor! No fleabag tom is going to take my apprentice from me! She brings be one paw step closer to my destiny!"

Automatically Peppernose is hissing. "She's not my apprentice...but she does deserve a better mentor than you." The black tom spat. "Unless you have an injury I suggest you leave my den, or risk getting one."

Hissing Sunstone padded away, tail lashing. "Don't go near her." She huffed. "Echopaw will be my apprentice and become a warrior. She's not a good fit for a medicine cat. She's too weak."

Peppernose ignored her and got back to his herbs. Thinking of the sandy she-cat he couldn't see what she meant about Echopaw not being fit to be a medicine cat. Granted, he didn't want the spotted apprentice, but that was for reasons other then if she was a good fit for the clan.

Peppernose's moment of peace lasted only seconds. Heavy pawsteps told him that Maplefur was approaching. "My belly really hurts." She moaned.

Peppernose sniffed the queen's belly. She was very large, _she should be having a big litter...although with all the prey Mintyheart has brought her, she may be this large and have only one kit. _

"You're fine."

"I think my kits are coming soon." She mewed softly.

"No. You still have a quarter moon till you're due." He mewed as softly as he could give in a normal tone.

"But it hurts." She whined.

"Then bite a stick." He was getting impatient with not only the queen, but all the intruders today.

"Giving birth will be much worse." He tried to sound as if he felt sorry for the queen but it came off cool, as usual.

As Maplefur slowly padded into the clearing another bit of pain made her wince. Looking over she saw Skypool was licking Echopaw between the ears comfortingly. As she approached she saw Echopaw's eyes soften as she looked at Maplefur's huge belly. Mintyheart padded up touching her belly with his nose, _I still can't believe we're having kits_. He thought.

Skypool was overwhelmed by the sweetness in Mintyheart's mew as he began mewing softly to Maplefur's belly about meeting the little ones inside.

"He will be a great father." She mewed softly to Maplefur.

"Maplefur..." Echopaw's mew had lost all its bitterness. "Do you want me to change the moss in your nest? It won't be long till your kits are here."

"Thank you." Maplefur sat down with effort.

"I'll help." Mintyheart offered.

"I can just get Palepaw." Echopaw mewed. Flicking her tail to Maplefur, whose eyes betrayed her fear and pain.

Echopaw padded over to where Palepaw sat in the dying sun. "Hey."

Her mew made him jump. "I think you'd be a good medicine cat! Please don't claw my ears!"

Purring Echopaw looked at her jumpy den mate. "Maplefur needs her bedding changed. Come on." She flicked him over the head with her tail.

The two apprentices were spreading the new moss in the nursery when Mintyheart entered helping Maplefur, with Skypool behind them.

"Here. Just lay down. You need to be taking it easy." Mintyheart's mew and eyes showed his worry.  
Maplefur flopped down. Skypool gently placed her tail on the young queen. Her belly convulsed. Skypool's eyes grew wide as she looked at the silver tom, "The kits are coming."

Turning back Mintyheart pelted over to Peppernose's den. "PEPPERNOSE!"

"Starclan help me. If I hear my name one more time today I will rip some cat's pelt off." Taking a deep breath he turned to the pacing tom. "What do you want Mintyheart?"

"Maplefur needs you...or herbs...or something"

"She was just in here. She's fine." The black tom turned back to his herbs.

"No she's not okay. My kits are coming!" Mintyheart waited for Peppernose to respond but he just nosed his herbs. "Skypool sent me to get you."

Hearing that the veteran queen bought into Maplefur's drama shocked Peppernose. Rolling his eyes, he padded out of den towards the nursery with Mintyheart right on his tail.


	10. Chapter 10

When Peppernose arrived at the den he found that Maplefur was heaving on the ground, her eyes already glistened with pain. Skypool and Echopaw were hovering over her and Mintyheart was hovering over Peppernose.

"Well, what's wrong?" he asked Maplefur lazily.

"Her kits are coming, can't you see that you idiot!" Echopaw snapped. Then she looked bashful. Insulting the one she wanted for a mentor was probably not the best idea. But still. He _was_ being an idiot. Maplefur just gurgled.

Peppernose sighed. Today was a horrible day, not that most days were good. Lack of sleep; overworked because some stupid warriors didn't let their wounds heal properly, and that pesky apprentice Elderpaw or whatever her name was wanted to be a medicine cat. Oh goody. He stepped closer to Maplefur and with surprising grace placed his paw on her swollen belly. He felt the kits stirring, which was nothing unusual. But they were placed in a position that would suggest that, yes, she was about to have her kitting.

"So, is she having them?" asked Mintyheart tentatively but anxiously.

"Probably," said Peppernose indifferently. Then he stood up and said, "Well, I'm going to go get some herbs…." But then Maplefur lashed out and clawed his legs.

"Oh no you don't! You need to deliver my babies! That one is useless!" She gestured at Mintyheart. "And this one is going senile!" she flicked her tail at Skypool. "And she's still a kit!" She nodded to Echopaw.

Peppernose glared at her for a moment. "Fine. You!" he gestured at Echopaw with his tail. "Go bring me Palepaw."

"Why?"

"Because I want him to get some herbs for me. He's the only one in the clan who knows something about herbs other than me."

"Bet you wish you had an apprentice right now, don't you?" she said saucily.

"Oh, don't start that again!"

"I could be your apprentice, Peppernose!" she bounced excitedly.

"Absolutely not!"

"Please!?"

"I think Palepaw is out hunting with Shimmerpaw…" mentioned Mintyheart. Peppernose sighed. Everybody was so incompetent. Maplefur wailed in pain as she contracted.

"Fine! You want to be my apprentice so bad? Go get me borage, burnet, chamomile, and chervil!"

Echopaw stared at him in delight for a moment.

"What are you waiting for?! Go on! Get!" he snarled. Echopaw stormed out of the den and raced to the medicine cat's den.

"Mintyheart, mind going to get a stick for your mate?"

"Why?"

"To bite down on, of course!" said Skypool. "It hurts you know. And herbs only do so much."

"And that apprentice isn't going to find the right ones, and I can't leave her," Peppernose stated seriously.

Back in the medicine cat's den Echopaw slowed to a walk and eventually a stop. There were so many herbs. She never really examined closely Peppernose's den, but the supplies packed in were immense. She felt her confidence droop, as well as her dream. She didn't know what borage, burnet, or – ah, what were the last two? Great.

"_Echopaw." _Echopaw froze. She heard her name, but as an echo from-

"Foxpaw!" she breathed. She had turned and saw her lovely sister standing there in the den with her. But it wasn't quite how she remembered Foxpaw. She was wispy, as if she weren't solid, but she was Foxpaw.

Foxpaw took a few steps and nosed a pile of fern like plants. "These are chervil. They have many uses, but they are especially good for when a queen is kitting." Echopaw couldn't quite believe what was happening, but she stepped over and grabbed some of the chervil. Foxpaw took a step to her left and pointed with her nose to a cluster of white flowers hanging from the roof of the den. "Those are chamomile. They are a strengthening herb but they also have a calming effect. Especially good for a cat like Maplefur." Echopaw stood on her hind legs and bit off a stem of the chamomile. Foxpaw crossed the den to another group of leaves, "these are borage. They cause the mother to increase her production of milk. Peppernose won't give it to Maplefur until she has given birth to all four."

"Four kits? Wow…" murmured Echopaw. Foxpaw nodded before taking a step back and showing Echopaw the last pile of leaves that were oval shaped with serrated edges. "This is burnet. They are traveling herbs because they give cats strength. Usually Peppernose will not use this for birthings unless it is a large or difficult litter. In this case, it will be both."

"It's going to be difficult?" asked Echopaw.

"Yes, especially the third, and not just for Maplefur," replied Foxpaw.

"What do you mean?"

Foxpaw stood stoically in front of Echopaw as she said, "Beware the third, Echopaw, for your clan's sake. He will bring you unimaginable pain."

"Huh?" Foxpaw started to disappear. "No, wait!" she yowled, but she was gone. Echopaw stood there for a moment, too stunned to move. She heard Maplefur wail in pain, which jolted her back to the present. She grabbed the herbs lying in a pile near her paws and took off to the nursery. She saw that most of the clan was waiting out in the clearing in anticipation for the birth of the new kits.

When she entered the nursery she saw that Maplefur was biting on a stick and lashing her tail. Peppernose was grazing his tail over her stomach and said, "Well, you're going to have at least two. Probably three."

"I told you!" spat Maplefur. "I'm having SIX SHE-CATS!"

Peppernose snorted, "yeah, whatever." Then he saw Echopaw and his eyes widened. He sniffed the air and recognized the smell of all the herbs he requested. "You got them?" Echopaw nodded and placed the herbs at his paws. Peppernose looked at her inquisitively. Maplefur's wail brought him back to his work. He quickly stuffed the chervil and chamomile in Maplefur's mouth in mid-yowl, and she gurgled them down.

Outside the nursery the clan waiting with anticipation. Kits haven't been born in quite a few moons. Palepaw and Shimmerpaw had returned from hunting, each having caught a few items. Palepaw jumped in the air every time Maplefur screamed.

"Can't she suck it up?" murmured Sunstone to no one in particular.

"Like you would know what it's like to give birth, Sunstone," mewed Adderfang dryly.

"Hmmph. Well, I'm just glad that I never have to give birth!" retorted Sunstone.

"Imagine what your kits would be like. Ugh." Sunstone's response to that was a growl.

After some time of Mintyheart trying some breathing exercises with Maplefur, Peppernose announced, "The first one should be coming soon!"

"Oh, Preciouskit! Come on out!" squealed Maplefur, half in pain, half in delight.

A slimy sack slithered out of Maplefur, and Peppernose dove to clip it open. A light brown kit with darker stripes opened his mouth and let out a mew. "It's a tom," informed Peppernose. Skypool then took over and started liking the little kit.

"YOU LIE!"

Mintyheart padded over to his new son and gazed at him with such gentleness. "I have a son."

"And another!" chipped in Echopaw, as the second kit came out. He was a medium brown color, like Maplefur. Echopaw had unclipped his. Mintyheart stepped over to him and began licking him to start his circulation. Maplefur let out another screeching wail.

"STUPID TOMS!"

Peppernose felt her stomach, completely indifferent to her ranting. "Two more, I think." But they weren't coming, and that puzzled Peppernose. As crazy as Maplefur was, she wasn't weak. While most queens would have lost their strength by now, Maplefur was still holding on. No, the next kit was just harder to get out. Peppernose fed Maplefur some of the burnet, to give her an edge. Echopaw gazed anxiously. The words of Foxpaw rang in her head: "The third will be difficult… beware the third." And the third WAS being difficult. It was taking longer than it should. Peppernose has fed Maplefur the burnet, just as Foxpaw said he would. Echopaw shivered.

"Why is she taking so long!?" wailed Maplefur.

"Push," Peppernose commanded quietly. And she did. And the third slipped out.

Shaking, Echopaw reached down and unclipped the sack. Inside was a pale gray tom and the moment she saw him, she felt the air slip out of her, and she knew that Foxpaw's words would ring true someday. She didn't know how or in what form, but she was sure that this kit would grow up to be the bane of her days. She looked up at Peppernose and their eyes met, and she could tell that he was having mixed feelings too. He didn't know about the fore-telling Foxpaw gave her but he was frowning at the small kit in a sort of mystified way.

"ANOTHER TOM?! What did I do to StarClan to punish me with such a maggot!? Maggot of my womb, maggot of my family, and maggot of my heart! I name thy Maggotkit."

_Maggotkit!_ Echopaw was horrified. A horrible name for a horrible destiny.

"Maplefur! You can't name our son Maggotkit!" contradicted Mintyheart.

"My son! He's no son of mine. I have no sons. He's your son. But I do name him Maggotkit, for he is one."

"I won't stand for that!"

"Bah! Too bad. I did just give birth to him so I have the right to call him what pleases me."

Mintyheart frowned. _I'll discuss this later. Now's not the time._

And before anyone knew it, the last kit came out. Peppernose slit open the sack with his claw, which made Skypool wince. And there she was, a floppy, black and white mess which Maplefur thought was absolutely precious. "Preciouskit," she whispered. Peppernose snorted, Mintyheart and Skypool sighed contentedly, and Echopaw smirked. No way Peppernose could refuse her now, what with her helping out with the kitting and the prophecy thing, which was disconcerting, but nevertheless. She was going to be a medicine cat apprentice, and not even big bad Mr. mean Peppernose was going to stop her.

Peppernose was trying to stuff borage in Maplefur while Maplefur was trying to lick Preciouskit inside out. Skypool arranged the other three kits so that they could nurse. Mintyheart gazed at all of them fondly. "Have any ideas about the other two?"

"Huh?" grunted Maplefur.

"For their names?"

"Oh, I don't care. Name them whatever you want." And she didn't take her eyes off Preciouskit. That shocked everyone in the den other than Peppernose. Mintyheart looked down at his first two sons, who were already suckling. One was a light golden brown with dark stripes like his father. The other resembled Maplefur's brown pelt. "Brackenkit," he named the brown one and then licked his head. _A good, solid name._ But for his first-born he wanted a strong name, to be a strong warrior, and to take care of his siblings. "Jaggedkit." And Mintyheart sighed. It wasn't a perfect family, but he was a father now. Jaggedkit, Brackenkit, Maggotkit, and Preciouskit. He would have to have a word about Maggotkit, though.

Mintyheart couldn't break his gaze with the four squirming kits. Maplefur was starting to drift off, waking once in a while to lick Preciouskit before slowly drifting off again.

"You should tell the clan about your kits." Skypool mewed softly.

Mintyheart nodded. "They are just so little. It's amazing that those little bundles of fur will become warriors someday..."

"They grow fast." Skypool purred. "But with you at their side they will be more than just warriors. You will make a great father."

Mintyheart looked into the she-cats eyes. "...how do you know? How will I guide them when I'm so lost myself?"

Skypool rested her tail on Mintyheart. "You will follow your heart like you've always done and teach them to do the same. That's all you can do. They will choose their own paths, but you can be there for them to look back to. Now go, show off your kits to their clan."

Mintyheart nodded, touching his cheek to the motherly she-cat. "Thank you." Giving each kit a lick between the ears he padded into the clearing. Excited eyes glittered in the darkness.

"She had four kits." He mewed steadily. "Three toms and a she-cat."

"Congratulations." Winterstorm mewed.

"Wow, four kits." Sunstone mewed.

"Yea! I can't wait to see the little things!" Shimmerpaw's eyes sparkled.

Elderleaf looked over at Heavystep, whose whiskers were twitching in joy of kits in the clan once again. "Maplefur will have her paws full. Good thing she has Mintyheart for help."

"They will be great warriors." Icecloud mewed. "An asset to their clan."

Bluefrost nodded and Mintyheart could see the relief in his eyes that the clan would once again be strong.

Palepaw stood a little taller and his eyes shown up at his mentor. "Congratulations Mintyheart."

Blazingstar padded up to his friend, eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "Have you named them?"

"Yes. The eldest orange and black tom is Jaggedkit. Brackenkit has a brown pelt. The she-kit is Preciouskit and the grey tom's name is...still being discussed. "

"Good choices." Blazingstar meowed.

Spiceheart approached Mintyheart slowly. "I'm so happy for you and Maplefur." She looked up at the silver tom. "Can I see them?"

"Of course you can. Go ahead. I'll be right there."

She nodded and disappeared into the nursery. Mintyheart sat outside talking with Blazingstar as the clan congratulated him and slowly retreated to their nests. The clearing was empty when Blazingstar headed for his den. He had wanted to see Mintyheart's kits but Spiceheart was still in the nursery and he didn't want to anger her more. _I'll see them first thing in the morning._

Mintyheart's eyes were heavy as he padded into the warm nursery, but he was still bubbling over with joy. Just the sight of his kits sent his heart soaring. Maplefur's steady breathing told him she was sleeping. Spiceheart was crouched down watching the squirming kits. Mintyheart sat next to her.

"They are so perfect." She mewed at last.

"Thank you."

Jaggedkit had strayed a bit from Maplefur's belly. As Mintyheart reached forward to help him, Jaggedkit turned and their noses touched. Jaggedkit, being not familiar with Mintyheart's scent at first, recoiled. Mintyheart paused, and stared that the little ball of fur. After a moment, Jaggedkit moved forward as he recognized the scent that was present at his birth. Reaching, he touched his father's cheek causing Mintyheart to burst into an uncontrollable fit of purrs. Placing Jaggedkit back with his littermates he returned to where Spiceheart was waiting.

"The clan will be okay again." She mewed with glazed eyes. "We're safe. These kits will be raised as kits should, without bloodshed and death. There is hope." She looked at Mintyheart.

"You'll make a great father."

"I hope you're right." He looked at his kits. _I will defend you at all costs. _

"They will be great. Forestclan is blessed to have loyal warriors and a young strong leader." She mewed softly, as if to herself.

A little hiss made the two warrior's eyes dart to the kits. The hiss had come from Preciouskit, who was now letting out a low growl at Jaggedkit, who was lying on her tail. Jaggedkit squirmed away from his angry sister and settled by Brackenkit, and fell asleep.

Spiceheart purred, "She will be a pawful. She's already getting after her brothers." Spiceheart stretched, "I better get back to my den. Can we go hunting together tomorrow?"

"I'd like that." Mintyheart mewed. "Good night."

"Good night." She whispered as she headed for the warriors den.


	11. Chapter 11

Mintyheart opened his eyes and found himself in the dim light of the nursery. The kits were starting to squirm around their nest. Mintyheart was stiff from his awkward sleep but pride still rose in his heart as he looked at his kits. "Good morning." He mewed softly. Four little heads turned towards him, eyes closed and ears lopsided. Brackenkit let out a little squeak.

"Hello, Brackenkit." Mintyheart cooed. Preciouskit took in a deep breath and let out a loud mew for her size. Mintyheart purred. Her black and white pelt was spiked up all over the place. "Shhh, my Preciouskit. Don't wake your mother." Maggotkit was working on turning his little body towards Mintyheart and Jagged began creeping towards his father, on unstable legs.

Mintyheart leaned forward, "I'll come to you." He touched each of them on the nose as he meowed, "My name is Mintyheart. I am a warrior and your father. You are part of Forestclan. Right now you are in the camp's nursery with your mother Maplefur. The clearing is right outside, where your clanmates are hunting and patrolling. They can't wait to meet you." He breathed in their warm milky scents.

Maplefur stirred, her eyes wild, till they fell on Preciouskit. "Come here my baby." She snatched the kit and started grooming her fluffy fur.

"I'm going out hunting. What are you in the mood for?" Mintyheart asked her.

"Ummmm...a big...fat...juicy...mouse." She got out between licks. "And a young rabbit. Not a tough older one."  
"I'll get them." He mewed earnestly. As he turned to leave, he paused. He normally loved running in the woods, but now, all he want to do was watch the kits wiggle around their nest. _But they need milk. So Maplefur needs her mouse and young rabbit._

Squinting in the sunlight he saw Skypool trotting over. "I was just coming to get you. You're on a hunting patrol with Spiceheart and Sunstone." Seeing the worry in his eyes she added, "I'll help Maplefur and keep an eye on her and the kits."

"Thank you." With his mind at ease he padded towards Spiceheart and the pacing Sunstone.

"It's not like HE had the kits! Why can HE be late for hunting? Worthless toms."

"There his kits too, Sunstone." Spiceheart meowed.

"Still. The she-cat does all the work and the tom gets all the credit. Typical..." Sunstone growled.

"Ready?" Mintyheart padded up.

"Yeah. I'VE been ready for moons!" The sandy she-cat turned and padded out of camp.

The sun was sinking slowly and a slight breeze stirred up the forest floor. Two days had passed since the kits had joined Forestclan. Any spare minute that Mintyheart had, he was in the nursery. Maplefur would get annoyed with him once in a while but as long as she got to cling to Preciouskit, she was fine. None of the kits had opened their eyes and Skypool had told him it could be anywhere from four to seven more sunrises. Padding through the drying ferns he was reminded that leaf bare on its way. As he came closer to the Shadeclan border he paused, spinning his head he looked around.

"Charming?"

The sleek black tom padded forward. "Told you I'd find you."

"You didn't find me. I came here." Mintyheart mewed playfully.

_I didn't think he'd come. _The black cat thought. "Yes you did. Do you still want to come to my territory?"

"Yes." Mintyheart looked over his shoulder. "Let's stay along the Forestclan border till we reach the end."

Mintyheart padded confidently through the woods, keeping an eye on Charming. As they reached the end of Forestclan's territory Mintyheart paused. With his tail he moved the ferns aside to let Charming come up next to him. "I'll follow you."

Charming nodded. "Stay close." They set off at a light jog and the trees began to be more scarce. Charming paused as they approached a small stream. On the other side was an open field with a fence surrounding it. A dog was barking in the distance and a large red barn was just visible on the other side of the grassy field. Mintyheart looked over as Charming let out a low growl. "Duke."  
A muscular tabby tom padded out from behind a tree.

"Hello Boo. What do you have hear?" Duke sniffed towards Mintyheart, whose neck fur was rising.

"He's a friend." Charming mewed calmly.

"He smells odd...is he one of those dumb wild cats?" Mintyheart let out a hiss. "Ah, so he is. He doesn't seem so fierce. Is he still a kit?" Mintyheart was about to leap at the bigger tom but Charming beat him to it. Charming's claws slashed the tabby's face and even without any technique, caused blood to flow. "Don't go looking for a fight you can't win, Duke. There's a reason why those cats are feared. If you don't watch it, I'll let Mintyheart here, turn you into crow food. "

Hissing Duke jumped the stream and raced away.

"Does he live at your barn too?" Mintyheart asked.

"No." Charming was glaring at the spot where the tom disappeared. "He lives in the barn down the Thunderpath. There's a group of cats there. All dumb as rocks."

Mintyheart purred. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Charming's eyes were soft again as he looked at Mintyheart. "Come on." He sprang across the stream and ducked under the fence. Mintyheart followed, but as they entered the large open field, Mintyheart's courage faltered. The large open space was so different for him. There was no tree cover or ferns to stalk through. _I could never live in Meadowclan. _A twig snapped causing Mintyheart to jump. Charming, seeing Mintyheart's discomfort, slowed his jog and let his fur brush Mintyheart's lightly. Feeling Charming's soft pelt against his, Mintyheart pressed closer. The two toms padded soundlessly and confidently side by side up to the barn.

"Here we are." Charming glanced at Mintyheart. But the silver tom seemed to be at ease. Soft mews came out of the barn as well as the smell of hay and horses. "I'll introduce you to my 'clanmates.'" He purred.

As Mintyheart followed Charming into the barn, his eyes shifted all around. The walls seemed to trap him, but he kept padding forward. A horse snorted as the two cats bounded up into the hayloft. Mountains of the sweet smelling grass spread out before Mintyheart. At the base of one was a grey she-cat. Five kits ran up and down the hay pile closest to her. Upon seeing the strange silver cat, the kits halted and began to creep down the hay.

"Hello. Cloudy." Charming mewed to the queen.

A small white she-cat can around another hay pile. "This must be the Forestclan Warrior my brother has been mewing about." She purred. "My name is Icicle."

Charming gave his chest a nervous lick while Mintyheart answered the white cat, "My name is Mintyheart."

"Welcome." Icicle mewed. Cloudy nodded although her eyes betrayed her weariness of the forest cat. Within a heartbeat Mintyheart was surrounded by the five kits. They were sniffing, poking, and mewing all around him.

"You LIVE in the forest!"

"What is a warrior?"

"Can you tear apart a fox?"

"Look at his claws!"

"Do you live with other cats?"

"Do you eat kits for snacks, like it says in all the stories?"

"Everyone sit." Icicle mewed sternly. "Yes he does live in the forest and is a warrior. AND he's our guest, so he will be treated with respect. Now, introduce yourselves, one at a time, to Mintyheart."  
A grey and white tom-kit stepped forward. "My name is Haze. Can you teach me battle moves? Boo says that warriors train each other!"

Icicle glared at her brother for telling her kit about the life a the forest cats. "Maybe later."

"My name is Tumble." A brown she-cat mewed.

"And mine is Dusk." The little gray she-kit was trying so hard to sit still. Icicle was pleased that her daughters had behaved better than her son.

Cloudy's son, a brown tom was next. "My name is Thistle." He sat as tall as he could, "And this is my sister Sunny."

"Hi." The ginger kit mewed shyly.

"Can we show Mintyheart the hayloft?" Dusk asked.

"Sure. If he wants to," Charming mewed.

"I'd like that." Mintyheart stood.

"What would my warrior name be?" Tumble asked the silver warrior.

"I don't know." Mintyheart looked at the bouncing kit. "The clan leader gives a warrior their name. But right now your name would be Tumblekit." Mintyheart could hardly put a paw down as the kits swarmed him. Climbing the hay cliffs turned out to be way more fun than Mintyheart imagined. At first, part of him was on edge of being in the barn and not under the open sky, but by the end, he looked as comfortable as the kits.

"Okay, so one more game before you all have to go to your nests." Charming mewed.

"Yay!"

"Can we play a warrior game!"

"Yeah!" The kits were bouncing up and down.

"It's up to Mintyheart." Charming turned to the warrior.

"Sure. Okay, so in this game there will be two teams. Charming will lead one..."

'Whose Charming?" Dusk mewed to Mintyheart.

"Oh...I mean..." Mintyheart started...

"Charming is my warriors name." The black tom blinked at the Mintyheart.

"Cool!" Haze mewed

"Okay. So Charming's patrol will be Dusk, Tumble, and Sunny. Haze and Thistle will be with me. So the goal of this game is to get the stick from the opposite hay pile and bring it back to your own side." The kits bounced around.

"Okay. Let's go." Mintyheart led the two toms away. "Now, we are down a cat so we will have to sneak over there quickly. Haze, I want you to try to get the stick. Take the right side of the hill. Thistle, I want you to be the distraction. Run right up the face of the hill. That should draw them to you and give Haze a chance to get to the stick. I'll stalk around the back side and be there to help if any trouble arises. Can you do that?"

The tom little toms puffed out their chests. "I can get that stick!"

"Yeah. And I'll take out Dusk AND Tumble for you! Sunny should be easy to scare away."  
Mintyheart purred at the kits enthusiasm. "Okay let's go." The kits bounded off, putting their plan into action. Mintyheart waited before creeping out and heading towards the back of the hay hill. Arching his neck to see around the hill he spotted Thistle who already had Dusk pinned down and was trying to get Tumble off his back. A gray and white blur darted up the hay pile and Haze came whisker to whisker with Sunny. Haze pounced on the little she-cat and moved her closer to the stick. Purring to himself Mintyheart climbed up the back of the hill at a slow pace. _I wonder where Charming is..._Just as the thought crossed his mind, he was shoved downward by the large black tom. Clinging to the tom, he dragged Charming over the edge with him and the two toms rolled down the hill and a mess of purrs and fur. Landing with a soft thud the two cats paws were tangled, but either moved.

"You got hay on my fur." Mintyheart accused playfully.

"Oh, well...I'm sorry." Charming swept his tail over Mintyheart's flank, removing the bits of dried grass. "But I told you I'd always find you." He purred.

Mintyheart reached forward and licked Charming once between the ears. "How charming." Mintyheart stood, as Haze came pelting down the hill holding the stick, Thistle was a few pawsteps behind.

Charming quickly shook his head, hoping that his face didn't betray his feelings of shock and joy.

"That was SO fun!"

"We want a rematch"

"No way! WE one!"

"Yeah, Tom's rule!"

"No you cheated."

"Did not!"

Icicle padded up with Cloudy at her side. "Thanks for watching them for us."

"Yes, I love my kits but the break was nice."

"No problem." Mintyheart purred. "I enjoyed it. You both have wonderful kits."

"Say goodnight to Mintyheart." The white she-cat mewed.

"Good night!"

"Thanks for playing with us!"

"Will we see you again?" All the kit's eyes widened.

"I hope so..." The perfectly white queen mewed, looking right into Mintyheart's eyes.

"I'll come back anytime." The silver tom replied.

As the queens lead their kits to their nests, Charming turned to Mintyheart. "Want to go hunting? There's a big open field on the other side of the barn."

"I'd love to. Those kits wore me out." Mintyheart flicked his tail for Charming to lead the way.

It was close to dark by the time the cats reached the field. Tall clover and alfalfa spread out in front of them. Soft sounds of prey reached their ears and the night creatures began to emerge. Charming caught a morning dove, while Mintyheart got a young field rabbit. The two toms lay under the stars sharing their prey and talking about their pasts as time passed. Cold air had blown in and they sat, pelts meshed, as the moon rose. The moon was high in the sky when Charming roused Mintyheart.

"Wha...?"

"Mintyheart, we dozed off. Shouldn't you be back with your clan?" Charming's mew was full of sadness but he knew his time with the silver tom was only borrowed. _No matter how much I love him...we couldn't be together...besides, the likelihood that Mintyheart feels the same about me, a barn cat, is next to nothing. _Mintyheart stretched, his silver pelt glittering in the moonlight. _It's selfish of me to keep him here any longer. _"I can walk you back to your forest?" His eyes dropped. Looking at Mintyheart was too hard, deep down Charming knew that what little they had, couldn't be. His love for the sleek warrior was forbidden. Charming turned and padded forward. Not hearing pawsteps behind, he paused and looked back. Mintyheart's ice blue eyes gleamed in the darkness.  
"I know how late it is. You're not keeping me against my will." The silver tom padded up, shinning like the moon itself. "As if you could stop me from going back to my clan." He flicked the dazed tom on the nose as he padded around him. "If I wanted to leave I would have left by now. But ….you're the only one that knows me better then I know myself." Mintyheart sat next to Charming. "Plus," He purred more playfully, "You'd just find me again, wouldn't you?"

"I'll always find you." The black tom rested his tail on Mintheart's. "Come on. Let's go back the barn. It's warmer in the hay." The two toms padded way, pelts brushing.

"W-w-where is-s-s-s Mintyheart?" Palepaw stammered.

"How should I know?" Shimmerpaw turned back to Echopaw. "So you really helped with the kitting?"

"Yeah!" Echopaw puffed out her chest and gave it a few licks, "It was really cool. There is no way Peppernose won't mentor me now."

Shimmerpaw looked into Echopaw's eyes, "I'm really going to miss training with you. But I'm really happy for you too!"

"Hey," Echopaw's mew was cheerful. "We can still train together. I should know some battle moves, after all, who wants a helpless medicine cat? AND, I have to keep your skills sharp, without me to train with you'll get soft. I mean, it's not like Palepaw is going to challenge you." She purred to her friend.

Palepaw padded, tail drooped towards Skypool. "Skypool, do you-ou know where Mintyheart is-s-s?"

Skypool licked her adopted kit between the ears. "I haven't seen him lately. But I bet he's in the nursery." She purred. "Come with me."

Skypool stuck her head in, "Maplefur? Is Mintyheart in there?"

"No." The brown she-cat mewed shortly. "No Preciouskit. Stay by me. You're looking thin, my little one. You need to eat. Move over Maggotkit."

"I guess he's not in there.." Skypool looked at the setting sun. "It's a bit late for him to be out; although, he's an odd one sometimes." She mewed affectionately. "Ask Blazingstar or Bluefrost. They'd know if he's out on a patrol."

Palepaw's legs were shaking as he padded up to Blazingstar. While is leader was intimidating, Bluefrost was just down right scary. "Blazingstar, do-oo you know where Min-Mintyheart is?"

Blazingstar looked up, "No I don't know where he is. We went hunting around sunhigh...but I haven't seen him since. Have you seen him Sunstone?"

The sandy she-cat looked over, "When he got back from hunting he went to see his kits...then I saw him talking with Spiceheart."

Blazingstar nodded his thanks, "Ask her. She might know. What do you need, Palepaw?"

"I-I-I just wanted to ask h-him if I was doing a battle mo-mo-move right."

"I'll let him know you're looking for him if I see him."

Sunstone stood, "I'll go ask Spiceheart if she's seen him. I have to ask her something anyway. Come on little tom."

"SPICEHEART!" Sunstone's screech made Palepaw jump.

The speckled cat padded out of the dirt place tunnel. "Keep your pelt on."

"Where is Mintyheart?" Sunstone didn't let Spiceheart answer. "It's too late for that dumb tom to be wandering around in the forest alone. What is he thinking? You were talking to him earlier, right?"

"Well, I'm meeting him for some night hunting." Spiceheart lied smoothly. "We talked about it earlier today."

"Just the two of you?" Sunstone questioned.

"Yeah. Well I mean you can join us..."

"Why would I want to do that?!" Spiceheart spat.

"Well, I thought I'd offer."

"Humph. Well, don't freeze your pelt off. It's getting colder at night." Sunstone padded off towards her nest.

_I wonder where Mintyheart is? _She thought as she padded towards the tunnel. A gruff meow broke her thoughts, "Spiceheart. Where are you going?"

Turning she saw Bluefrost, tail lashing.

"Ummm...hunting."

"Alone?"

"No. Mintyheart's waiting for me." Spiceheart mewed, seeing most of the clan was staring at her. _Great. That tom owes me big time. _

"It's fine." Blazingstar's mew crossed the hollow. "Don't be such an elder Bluefrost." He purred.

"Humph. Fine. Be back before moonhigh." The gray warrior turned and padded away.  
Nodding she padded out of camp. _Great, now I get to wander the woods "hunting". Maybe I'll run into him out there...he has been acting odd lately. _

The forest had grown cold as Spiceheart padded back into camp. Icecloud was on guard tonight but she didn't see the gray warrior as she approached camp. It was moon high and she had wandered the whole territory but didn't find Mintyheart. _Where is he? _She padded to her nest. As she laid down in the moss she looked over at his nest, _empty. _Opening her eyes wider to fight sleep she vowed she'd find out what he was up to.

The forest was just getting light as Mintyheart left the Shadeclan border. He had a wonderful night with Charming and was reluctant to leave the black cat. He could still picture his gleaming golden eyes among the ferns. Mintyheart had never had such knotts in his stomach then when he was with Charming. Shaking his head to clear it he focused on the task at hand; sneaking into camp without being seen. Rolling in the fallen leaves he tried to hide whatever scents he would have picked up from the barn. Once he was completely covered, he peered over the ledge and looked down on the camp. Icecloud was pacing near the entrance but a rustle in a bush had caught his attention and he padded towards it. Quickly Mintyheart dashed into camp. _Safe... _

"Nice of you to return to camp." Spiceheart's mew made Mintyheart spin around.

"Wha..."

"So what were you doing all night?" She questioned as she padded closer.

"I went out for a morning run." Mintyheart lied.

"Don't give me that." Spiceheart batted his ears. "I had to cover for you last night AND I've been awake all night waiting for you to turn up."

"...I fell asleep outside of the camp..." Mintyheart twitched his tail.

"I was out till moon high "hunting". I covered every inch of Forestclan and didn't see you."

Her mew was a mix of playfulness and accusing. "You smell really odd." She wrinkled her nose.

"Like what?" Mintyheart met her gaze, worried that she might be able to identify the mingled scents.

She leaned forward and sniffed his flank, "Like musty grass and leaves. Maybe dirt...There's an odd mingle of scents..."

"Well...I tripped and rolled down a small hill. Maybe that's it." Mintyheart tried to sound convincing.

"No. It's something I never smelled before. Where were you?"

"I was in a tree..."

"No you weren't."

Mintyheart paused. "Have you noticed how Skypool and Winterstorm have been spending a lot of time together? Do you think she'll take him as her mate? It's been awhile since she lost Birchstripe."

"Really? You think you can distract me with gossip?" Spiceheart flicked him with her tail playfully. "But, yes I have seen that but I don't know. They'd be cute...No! I'm not letting you get away with this!"

"Get away with what?" Mintyheart looked at her innocently.

"You know very well what!"

"I do?" He looked up at her, his ice blue eyes shimmering in the new light.

"Where were you last night?!" She was a whisker away. "Come on Mintyheart! I'm your friend! You can tell me anything!"

_Not anything... _Mintyheart dropped his gaze. "I was walking along the river last night, you know, just thinking. Well I wasn't looking where I was going and slipped." He looked up at her, "I fell in the river and got carried away. I was washed away and it took me a long time to get back to the clan...but I'm embarrassed that I was so mouse-brained, so don't tell anyone..."

She looked at him for a long time. "I'm not sure if I believe you..."

"Mintyheart!" Winterstorm mewed. "Do you and Palepaw want to do come battle training with me and Shimmerpaw today?" The white warrior paused, "Unless you're not up to it..." He looked Mintyheart up and down

"We were out hunting last night." Spiceheart answered quickly.

"Good. I didn't want to say anything but you two look like a mess." Winterstorm mewed.  
"I'll get Palepaw and Shimmerpaw." Mintyheart offered. Twitching his whiskers to thank Spiceheart he padded towards the apprentice den.

As Spiceheart watched the silver tom pad away she couldn't help but think that Mintyheart was lying to her. _There was no river or water scent in the jumble of scents on his pelt. _She thought, tail twitching. _I'll just have to follow him and see what he's really up to._


	12. Chapter 12

The next day Mintyheart padded across the clearing, tail drooping.

"What's wrong?" Skypool's mothering voice called from where she was sitting with Winterstorm

"Oh, nothing." Mintyheart stammered. "Maplefur just doesn't want me in the nursery so much."

"Why not?" Skypool sounded shocked.

"Well I am there a lot..."

"Nonsense! They are your kits too." Skypool's mew was sympathetic. "She's probably just getting defensive because the kits are starting to move around more. And with four kits it must be hard to keep an eye on all of them."

"Did she change the grey tom's name?" Winterstorm mewed to Mintyheart.

"No." Fury burned in Mintyheart's eyes. Lashing his tail he added, "I'll have to talk to Blazingstar. Maybe he'll let him change his name when he becomes a warrior."

"I'm sure he will." Skypool mewed gently. "Blazingstar isn't cruel."

"I'm going to talk to her again." Mintyheart turned back towards the nursery.

"Maybe you should wait." Skypool advised. "She's already upset now...I can try to talk to her."

Mintyheart looked at the sun setting below the tree tops, _Tonight is the Gathering...maybe I'll go visit Charming now. That way I'll be back in time, just in case Blazingstar wants me to go. _

"You're right." Mintyheart nodded to the ginger and white warrior. As he padded towards the entrance Blazingstar entered, Icecloud and Adderfang at his side. Blazingstar halted as his warriors passed him and entered the camp.

"Where are you off to?" He asked worriedly, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. It's just Maplefur..."

"Enough said." Blazingstar meowed. "Going out to clear your mind?

"Yes." Mintyheart hated to lie to Blazingstar but, it wasn't completely false...

Spiceheart had finished her mouse just as Mintyheart left camp. _Where are you going? _She thought. Standing she padded after him. Once she was in the forest she kept her distance from the silver warrior. _He can't see me. _As she followed his scent trail she realized he was heading deep into Forestclan territory and then even farther to the edge of it. Peering out of some ferns she could just see the sleek tom as he paused at the scent markers. After looking over his shoulder and tasting the air he turned and padded across. _He didn't! I knew he was up to something. But where was he going? Surely not to the two-leg's place? _She waited for him to get ahead and set off after him. He set a brisk pass but her heart was racing more from the unknown then the run.

Mintyheart padded along till the red barn can into view. A_lmost there, _he thought. As he approached the larger doorway voices reached his ears. Peering quickly around the corner he saw the kits bounding around Cloudy, while Charming sat near Icicle, talking.

"It was wonderful." Charming mewed. "I liked having him here. But..."

"But what?" His sister mewed.

"But, it would never work. He's a clan cat."

"Do you want it to work?" Her light blue eyes met his.

"I do. I don't want to be with any other cat. To me, he is perfect. All along, I tried to pretend it didn't matter if I was alone, but deep down I know I'd be lost without him. I'd love to be his shadow." Charming's eyes glazed over. "That way I'd never leave his side." He turned to Icicle, "I wish we had been born in a clan. I know you are happy here but I'd love to have been trained in hunting and fighting. The way he hunts and fights are breathtaking."  
Icicle nodded in understanding, she had known what it felt like to be in love. "When are you seeing your dashing warrior," she purred

Charming let out a playful hiss. "We didn't set up anything...so...I have to idea."

"You did all you could do." His sister purred. "If you love something, you have to let it go. And if it's meant to be, it will come back to you." Her eyes were glazed in a painful memory.

Mintyheart was taken back. Pausing for a moment, he shook his pelt. Rounding the corner he saw the surprise in Charming's golden eyes.

"What are you doing here?" The black cat padded forward, trying to control purrs.

"Checking up on you, Charming." Mintyheart flicked his tail from side to side as he added, "Hello, Icicle."

The white she-cat twitched her whiskers, "Hello Mintyheart." She shifted her gaze to her brother, "What did I tell you?" She purred. "You better sneak out before the kits see him."

Charming nodded. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Mintyheart nodded and the two set off at a jog along the fence surrounding the farm. Spiceheart padded after the pair, her mind whirling. The two toms padded along, mewing softly to each other until they both halted as a nearby bush rustled. Four, large, well fed, toms padded out.

"What is this?" A gray cat growled

"I told you he'd be here." Mintyheart recognized Duke's mew.

Charming was already arching his back. "What's wrong, Boo?" An orange tabby taunted.

Mintyheart rested his tail lightly on Charming's flank. "Calm down," he whispered.  
"The only reason they are here is they want to pick a fight with you." Charming hissed under his breath.

"That's not the only reason," A large brown tom mewed, "I also hate to see you happy."  
Charming flattened his ears and hissed, "Just leave him out of it."  
"Aww, that's sweet." The brown tom flicked his tail and the orange tabby and Duke pounced on Charming. Mintyheart was about to leap into battle when the gray tom leapt at his flank. Mintyheart spun around and began slashing at the tom. Charming struggled under the weight of the two toms and had almost freed himself when the brown tom's jaws tightened around his neck. "Don't even try it." The brown cat growled, "Let Smoky have a fair shake against the wild cat."

Charming struggled again and felt the fangs puncture his neck. "Aww, you love the mangy cat." His mew was muffled as Charming tried to claw his way out of the tangle of cats holding him down. "I'll rip your throat out, Boo. Don't tempt me"

"Then do it!" Charming snapped. Panic had taken over because he'd lost sight of Mintyheart.

"Oh, you'd die for your love? How charming." He taunted. "You're one messed up cat? You know he's a tom, right? You..."

The brown tom's taunting was cut short as claws ranked down his back. Turning he saw the silver warrior, tail lashing, "Your turn."

Spiceheart couldn't believe her eyes. Mintyheart had thrown off the grey tom and sent him pelting away yowling. He was now clawing the large brown cat. _Be careful Mintyheart. He's twice your size. _The black tom had managed to get to his paws and was clawing the air with massive blows. Spiceheart couldn't help but think of how much pain his claws would inflict if they hit their mark, but he was just a whisker off.

Seeing that their friend was losing his struggle with the warrior, the orange tabby left Charming and attacked Mintyheart.

Spiceheart wanted to yowl a warning to her clan mate but it was too late. Mintyheart was pinned down and the toms began to tear at his pelt. Her paws took her closer as she pelted toward the fight, _I must help him. _She was about to break out when the black tom caught her eye. He had deliberately taken a hit as he raced towards Mintyheart. Striking with so much hostility, his claws dug into the golden tabby's shoulder. Keeping his claws in the cat's pelt he drew his paw back with such force that it flung the orange tom off Mintyheart and into the dirt on the other side of the black tom. Spiceheart halted, her mouth open. Looking at the black tom she saw a clump of flesh and orange pelt still embedded in his claws. _He ripped out a chunk of that cat. _As the orange tom stood, Spiceheart could see the bone in the tom's shoulder. Mintyheart had gotten to his paws and was battering the brown toms ears. The black tom turned at the tabby in the clearing and began swiping at him as he padded forward. Spiceheart's eyes grew wide as she spotted Mintyheart. The silver tom turned and began to retreat. _What is he doing?! Mintyheart? _As the brown tom pelted after Mintyheart looked over his shoulder. Seeing the cat was following him he ducked his head and somersaulted into the ground. The brown tom was taken by surprise and Mintyheart ranked his belly fur was he passed over him. Holding on tightly to the tom, Mintyheart ripped out clumps of fur. Kicking the tom off, Mintyheart sprung up but his rival was already pelting away. He looked over and spotted Charming, who had gotten the tabby by the neck scruff and was shaking him from side to side. Seeing Mintyheart, Charming let the cat go and it ran away into the brush. Charming, staggered. The adrenaline had left him and now he felt his wounds. Mintyheart bounded over to Charming, worry sparking in his eyes. As he approached he could see the scratches on his sleek pelt. Mintyheart pressed his muzzle into Charming's.

"Are you okay?" Charming's mew was flecked with worry.

"Yeah. Just a few surface scratches." Mintyheart began to lick a deep gash on Charming's shoulder. "I wish I was a medicine cat." The bleeding didn't let up. "I'll be right back."

Spiceheart turned and climbed a tree as Mintyheart padded in her direction. After he gathered come cobwebs he came back to the black cat. "These will stop the bleeding." He pressed them on Charming's gash.

"I'm so sorry." Charming's eyes were full of pain. "I know I shouldn't have taken you here. I knew they'd want to fight you...how could I be so mouse-brained?!"

Mintyheart looked at Charming, "You fought at my side." Charming looked up. "There is no other cat I'd want there."

"But...I'm not a clan cat." Charming's mew was laced with anguish.

"I don't care. It will get hard sometimes but I could never leave your side." Mintyheart touched Charming's nose. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Mintyheart lay down next to Charming, "I have only one worry..."

"Yes?"

"Well..."Mintyheart started, "When I first met you I thought I'd never fall in love with you, and at the beginning I fought it. But I can't fight my feelings and my heart anymore...I have fallen for you. And I love it!" Mintyheart's mew was joyful, then then his tone switched, "But I'm scared. I'm afraid that one day will come and I will lose you forever"

"You'll never lose me." Charming mewed.

"How do you know?" Mintyheart's blue eyes were piercing.

"...Because, I'll always find you."

A deep rumble started in Mintyheart's chest and he pressed closer to Charming. "How charming. Come on, let's get you back to the barn" Charming stood but winced as he began to walk. "Lean on me," Mintyheart suggested.

Charming pressed his shoulder into Mintyheart and the two toms headed for the barn, tails intertwined.

Once the toms were out of sight Spiceheart climbed down from her hiding spot in the trees. She pelted back towards the forest. Knowing Mintyheart would be there shortly. As she crossed back into Forestclan territory her mind reeling. She padded along towards camp, _Mintyheart will come back this way, _she thought. Looking up she spotted a low branch on an oak tree. Climbing up she settled down and waited.

Mintyheart jogged through the ferns. He had brought Charming back to his barn, and after calming Icicle, gave Charming the instruction to take it easy until he came back in two sunrises. _Back in Forestclan. _He picked up his pace as he thought about his kits. _I can't wait to see the little fur balls. _He thought affectionately.

"So, who's that black tom?" A mew broke into his thought. Halting he looked around but saw nothing. "Well!?"

Mintyheart's eyes grew as wide as Palepaw's as he spotted Spiceheart climbing down from a tree. _Oh no..._

"You seemed _pretty_ friendly with _him_," remarked Spiceheart. Then she purred. "You look like Palepaw whenever I try to talk to him."

"H-He's just a friend," Mintyheart stammered, his heart beating wildly. _No cat was supposed to find out about this! I should have been more discrete! _

"Oho. Really. That's not what I saw. You two seemed pretty close. And if he's just a friend," Spiceheart took a step closer to Mintyheart, "why keep it a secret? ForestClan is acquainted with the barn cats near our border with MarshClan and that's no secret. Patrols sometimes go out of their way to check up on them and receive any outside news."

"Charming's just a friend," repeated Mintyheart.

"Oh, his name is Charming?" Mintyheart cursed silently. Spiceheart grinned.

"You know you don't have to hide anything from me. I'm not going to tell."

Mintyheart gazed at Spiceheart with a mix of emotions. No, she wouldn't tell, at least not on purpose. And he did feel the burden of this secret; it would be nice to have someone know. Spiceheart could cover for him, as well. Mintyheart sighed.

"Well, you caught me."

"No duh, mouse-brain. So is this where you've been sneaking off too? To see that tom-cat?" asked Spiceheart a little confused. She twitched her ears. _Is he attracted to toms? How strange…_

"Spiceheart," Mintyheart closed his eyes. _This is it. StarClan be with me. _"I …. I don't like she-cats like most toms."

"What about Maplefur?" Spiceheart purred.

Mintyheart shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know."

"You don't know how you got that crazy she-cat knocked up?" Spiceheart winced. "Sorry."

Mintyheart let out an uneven purr. "I guess I was just confused, and she took advantage of that." He opened his eyes, afraid that Spiceheart would get the wrong message. "Don't get me wrong, though. I love my kits with all my heart."

"I know," Spiceheart said quietly.

"I just…. It's so hard to explain, and I don't quite know what's going on myself. I like being around Charming. Is that so bad?"

"He's not from ForestClan…" pointed out Spiceheart.

"That's because there's no one in ForestClan that can give me what I want," replied Mintyheart.

Spiceheart frowned and thought for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure if its natural, but I'll always be your friend and I'll always be there for you." She leaned in and touched his nose.

"Fine…" Peppernose growled. Blazingstar gave a slight frown as Echopaw quivered beside him. He had hoped for more corporations on Peppernose's part, but, then again, if Peppernose was agreeing, he guessed that was corporation. Blazingstar gave an inaudible sigh as he gave a slightly frustrated look to Peppernose, who just glared back.

"I'll make the announcement right now," he stated. It was near sunhigh, anyway. Everyone should be in camp. He spun around and padded to the High Rock. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bluefrost trying to have a quiet argument with Sunstone but it wasn't working.

"Let all those able to catch their own prey come to the High Rock for a Clan meeting," announced Blazingstar, yowling so that every cat could hear him.

"I'm so excited, Peppernose! I can't believe it!" Echopaw stammered.

"Neither can I," said Peppernose dully.

"I promise I'll do my best!"

"Well, don't think that this is going to be easy," he retorted nastily.

Blazingstar gazed around at his warriors. Winterstorm and Skypool had just come out of the Nursery, Skypool taking one last look at the kits. _I guess Maplefur isn't coming out_. Sunstone deliberately sat far away from Bluefrost. _I wonder what that was about._ The rest of the Clan sat around, except that he couldn't find Spiceheart or Mintyheart. _I wonder where they…_ and then he saw them come in, a mouse hanging from Mintyheart's jaw and a rabbit from Spiceheart's.

"Echopaw," Blazingstar called from the High Rock. Echopaw padded forward. "From this day on, until you have received your full Medicine Cat name, you shall still be known as Echopaw. Your mentor will be Peppernose," finished Blazingstar. The clan cheered and Echopaw beamed before hopping over to Peppernose to give him a touch on the nose. He barely leaned in. _This is going to be an interesting apprenticeship,_ thought Blazingstar.

Bluefrost gave a yowl and began speaking, "Those who are going to tonight's Gathering as are as follows: Peppernose, Echopaw, Mintyheart, Spiceheart, Icecloud, Adderfang, Skypool, and Shimmerpaw."

Sunstone gave a growl, "I still don't see why I can't go!" She clawed at the ground. "Blazingstar, say I can go!" But Blazingstar shared a look with Bluefrost and Sunstone realized that they were on the same page.

"I told you," Bluefrost growled back. "I won't have your hot-headed attitude displayed at a Gathering right after a battle." And he flicked his tail, signaling the end of the conversation.

Later that night, near moonhigh, the Clan gathered together, about to set off.

"Now, mind your manners at the Gathering," Winterstorm towered over Shimmerpaw, and she nodded. "I won't be there to keep you out of trouble. So don't say anything that will give away information about ForestClan." She nodded again.

Sunstone was keeping night guard through the night but Winterstorm went to sleep in the Warrior's Den. When they reached Four Trees, MarshClan and MeadowClan were already there. Blazingstar flicked his tail and ForestClan followed him. Echopaw was going to take a step, but then Peppernose bit her tail, holding her back.

"Yeow! What was that for? Oh, I mean, um…"

"Shush," Peppernose silenced her. "For the Gathering, since it's your first as a Medicine Cat apprentice, you will stay by my side and talk with the other Medicine Cats. I will introduce them all to you. Lastly, you will not speak unless spoken to. Got it?" Echopaw nodded silently. "Let's go then and get this over with."

Echopaw padded after Peppernose as he approached a pretty light brown she-cat with a dappled patterned pelt. _She looks nice; a lot nicer than Peppernose anyway._

Peppernose dipped his head to the she-cat and she did the same. Her gaze then went to Echopaw. "My my. Did you take on an apprentice Peppernose? A bit young, are you?"

Peppernose glared at her. "This is Echopaw. And why, yes, Willowdance, she is my apprentice. And no, I am never too young to pass down secrets to the next generation of medicine cats in my clan."

"Ah, well, I should introduce my apprentice then." She flicked her tail to a cat in the distance, and a moment later a light brown she-cat with a reddish tail approached, following her was an older brown and gray she-cat. "This is Shellpaw, the Medicine Cat apprentice of MarshClan. The older one is Pheasantpaw, the same but of MeadowClan." They each dipped their heads to Echopaw, and Echopaw did the same.

"Hi," said Echopaw quietly, and Peppernose shot her an angry glance.

"What's this? An apprentice? Of Peppernose's? I don't think even StarClan could have predicted that!" said an old white and brown and black tom. "I'm Tawnyfoot, the Medicine Cat of MeadowClan. I see you've already met my apprentice."

"Actually, we met at the last Gathering," reminded Pheasantpaw, and she gave Echopaw a calculating look. "She was a Warrior's apprentice." And she said it like being a Warrior's apprentice was a bad thing.

"Ha! Well, like mentor like apprentice, I suppose," scoffed Tawnyfoot. Echopaw gave Peppernose a questioning glance. _What did he mean?_ And Echopaw soon realized that all the Medicine Cats were quite rude to Peppernose, but probably only because he was rude to them first. "Oh, here comes ShadeClan! Where is that Tangleberry?"

"Does Tangleberry have an apprentice?" Echopaw murmured to Peppernose, but apparently Pheasantpaw heard her.

"No, she doesn't. Unless she's like Peppernose and took one on recently," she said rudely to Echopaw. Pheasantpaw and Shellpaw shifted their positions so that they were on one side of the circle and that their mentors plus a recently appeared Tangleberry were on the other. Echopaw looked at Tangleberry quickly and saw that half of her left ear was gone. That surprised Echopaw. Medicine Cats shouldn't have to ever get in fights.

"So, do you know all of the herbs yet?" questioned Pheasantpaw.

"No," answered Echopaw, wishing that her training started sooner. "How old are you?" she asked Pheasantpaw, who flicked her ears, as if annoyed.

"I'm eighteen moons, but that's not important. Why did you decide to become a Medicine Cat?"

_Eighteen moons! She's old enough to be a warrior!_ "Oh, umm…" _They don't need to know about Foxpaw or my visions!_ She felt the eyes of Peppernose on her. "That's none of your business," she replied stoutly. And she moved onto the other side of Peppernose, away from pestering Pheasantpaw. She felt oddly scared, no, not scared. Daunted. She didn't want to be like any of them. Then she realized, she wasn't like them, so she never could be like them. She was training to be a Medicine Cat, but she had the spirit of a Warrior.

Peppernose's tail was flicking back and forth. Echopaw could tell that he didn't like talking with his fellow Medicine Cats. It seemed like during every topic, they had a negative comment directed at Peppernose. For the most part, he didn't say anything; he just glared at them. His tail accidentally brushed against hers and she felt the warmth of his tail flow into her in that split second before he quickly lifted it up and returned it to his opposite side. For some reason, her face flushed. She was comforted by the realization that Peppernose didn't belong either. _I guess we'll just be outcasts forever_, she thought wildly.

A cat yowled from the giant rock that was at the edge of the clearing. She looked up to see Blazingstar, Heronstar, Heatherstar, and Fogeyes, the ShadeClan Deputy. Or was he no longer deputy? Heronstar and Heatherstar were looking at Fogeyes curiously, but Blazingstar hid his emotions carefully behind a mask.

Heronstar was the first to speak: "Fogeyes, what's wrong with Miststar?"

"You can call me Fogstar now. As for Miststar, why not ask the young leader of ForestClan. I'm sure he can tell you all about how he sent her to StarClan," spat Fogstar nastily. The cats below gasped.

"He did—" Echopaw started to say, but Peppernose quickly bit her ear and hissed: "Shut up!"

Blazingstar stepped forward and matched Fogstar's gaze. "I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I did not know the wounds I inflicted on her were so severe. ForestClan aims to maim, not kill. Perhaps at her age, starting conflict was too much stress on her body?" There were murmurs below.

"What exactly happened between your two Clans?" asked Heatherstar.

Rather than address her, Blazingstar faced the cats below. "Cats of the Clans, Warriors, Apprentices, Queens, and Elders."

"Medicine Cats," muttered Tawnyfoot across from Echopaw.

"ShadeClan, for the past few moons, have been crossing our borders and staking the territory further and further into the woods. ShadeClan took these matters too lightly. We told them to stop. We attacked their patrol. But did they stop breaking the Warrior Code? No! I tell you, here and now that ForestClan did not and will not deal with thieves lightly. ForestClan invaded ShadeClan territory and attacked their camp. The purpose was to teach them a lesson that our Clan is strong, and fully capable to fight off intruders. We spilled blood, yes. I won't deny it. But it was never my intention to have the ground soak up your blood and never give it back."

There was a pause after Blazingstar's speech. Echopaw's heart filled with pride at her leader's words.

"You murdered her!" spat Fogstar, and he stepped back to his position.

Peppernose turned to Tangleberry, and asked, "Did he?" Tangleberry avoided Peppernose's eyes, until he let out a small growl. Tangleberry lifted her plump head and said, "Yes and no. She didn't die immediately. She lost a lot of blood before she stopped bleeding. And she just didn't recover. She was old for a leader. If she was younger her body probably would have recovered, but it didn't." She met Peppernose's gaze straight on. _How can she just reveal information like that? _Wondered Echopaw. She made a mental note to ask Peppernose later, as well as the remark about "like mentor like apprentice".

"Did you have any other deaths?" asked Blazingstar, concerned.

"A kit was found after the battle trampled, but I can't prove that was you. Although, he would have been living if you hadn't invaded."

"The kit and Miststar would have been living if you hadn't been taking more territory," said Blazingstar morosely. No one said anything for an awkward pause. "Well, while I'm up here I wanted to announce that we have a new Medicine Cat apprentice: Echopaw." Echopaw looked around to see that her Clanmates were looking at her while the others were trying to figure out who she was. "Stand up," Peppernose hissed. So she stood while all of the Clans half-heartedly called out her name. She sat when they stopped. "We also had a litter of kits born, healthy and strong." Blazingstar sat back in his original position. Heatherstar then stood up and padded forward.

"Nothing new except that we chased a fox off our territory. It went into yours," she nodded at Heronstar.

"Oh, that was you? Well, thank you for that. We also chased it off, and it out of our territory. However, our patrols reported that they saw it lurking near the border but on ForestClan's side. So head's up, Blazingstar," commented Heronstar. Blazingstar nodded in thanks. "And I have nothing besides that. Every cat looked to Fogstar.

"Snakeheart is the new deputy of ShadeClan, and that is all."

There was another awkward pause as no cat really knew what to do. Heatherstar and Heronstar jumped down first, leaving Blazingstar and Fogstar to share a quick glare at each other before following them.

Echopaw looked to her left to see that Peppernose was gone. She turned to look to him and saw that he was talking to Blazingstar. She padded after him and seemed to catch the last of the conversation.

"- so it wasn't really your fault at all," finished Peppernose.

"Hmm. Well, thank you for telling me this," said Blazingstar.

"I don't think Tangleberry would lie," said Peppernose.

"No, a warrior's death is bad enough, but the kit? Not to mention Foxpaw…" he drifted off, and Peppernose didn't have anything to say. Echopaw didn't get any closer at the mention of Foxpaw. Then Bluefrost joined the conversation, but Echopaw couldn't catch what he had said to Blazingstar.

"About that kit, Blazingstar. Fogstar threw a kit at me during battle. It's true that one wandered out of the nursery. But he threw it at me. I can't believe any cat would do such a thing… it was probably the same one." Blazingstar looked at Bluefrost in disbelief as an icy chill took him.

He shook his head as if to get the depressing thoughts out of his head. "Here is not the time to be talking about this. Let's talk about it tomorrow, alright?" Bluefrost nodded. Peppernose turned around and saw Echopaw looking on wide-eyed a few tail lengths back. He narrowed his eyes at her, surely wondering if she was eavesdropping.

"We're leaving now," he said shortly and turned to leave.

"Wait, Peppernose. I have a few questions." He stopped but didn't turn to face her. She waited, but when he didn't move, she asked:

"Why did Tangleberry tell us that stuff about Miststar? You told me not to say anything about ForestClan, so why did she say something about ShadeClan?" Peppernose sighed. He slowly turned around.

"Tangleberry is afraid of me. And they like to think that there is a Medicine Cat code thing that goes beyond boundaries. They share ideas, stories, experiences. Whatever. They can share whatever they want, I just don't particularly like sharing anything."

"Oh. Why is she afraid of you?"

"Most cats are."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Why don't you ask her?" Echopaw looked around, but didn't see her anyway. She glared at Peppernose. Why did he have to be so secretive?

"And… what did Tawnyfoot mean 'like mentor like apprentice'? asked Echopaw.

Peppernose gave her a long look, as if debating whether or not to tell her. "He meant that we have similar histories, that's all," said Peppernose shortly.

"What do you mean?" Another long look. Then Peppernose sighed.

"I was a warrior's apprentice too. I even became a warrior. One of the best. But then StarClan called me to be a medicine cat. So I did."

"Really?"

"No, I just made it up to amuse you," he said flatly. "Is that it?"

"For now," said Echopaw mistily. _Was he really a warrior before? I never knew that! That's so cool! He's just like me! Maybe he feels out of place too. Or maybe that's why he's so grouchy. Because he had to stop being a warrior. He does seem more of the warrior type than the healing type._


	13. Chapter 13

As Forestclan gathered together, preparing to leave Mintyheart looked out at the clearing at the other clans as they swarmed around their leaders. Piercing green eyes glowed out from Meadowclan, _Featherstep. _As he looked into the warrior's eyes we was surprised that he felt nothing. Before he had had a slight uneasiness in his belly...there used to be the slightest spark, but now nothing. Turning away he let his mind wander through the forest, across the open green pastures to Charming, who would be sitting on a fence post under the full moon. A deep rumble started in his throat as he thought of the sleek black tom. Looking back at Featherstep he realized that what they had was nothing compared to what he felt towards Charming.

"What are you purring about?" Spiceheart's pelt brushed his.

"I finally know what I want and even with obstacles, it's worth it." Mintyheart's eyes were fixed definitely on the glistening moon.

Unsure exactly what he was rambling about Spiceheart pressed close to him and flicking him with her tail, followed Blazingstar into the trees. Taking note of Balzingstar at the head she wondered how he was holding up. As if Mintyheart read her mind he mewed "He's a strong cat. Whatever we face we can trust he has the best interest of the clan in his heart. Blazingstar was our leader was the only good thing Patchstar ever did for this clan. He has a lot to bear but he's stronger and wiser than his years, plus he's not alone."

Spiceheart nodded. "He has his clan's support."

"But Shadeclan has a new leader now too...Strong and battle ready." Spiceheart jumped at the crooked meow of Adderfang.

"Yes, but one that is not wise. Strength is not always measured in fang and claw." Icecloud's cool mew sounded strongly from ahead of them.

"It was strong enough to take one of Blazingstar's lives." Adderfang retorted.

"He fights like the coward he is." Icecloud's mew was forceful, casing Adderfang to drop back. "Anyone can kill, but strength controlled is the strongest of weapons."

All of the cats fell silent.

Peppernose and Echopaw were bring up the rear and Shimmerpaw dropped back to join them.

"You looked confident at the Gathering." Shimmerpaw mewed to her friend.

"Glad it looked that way." Echopaw purred. "I miss hanging out with you already." Peppernose rolled his eyes at the two young she-cats.

"Well I'm proud that my sister is a medicine cat." Shimmerpaw rubbed her head on the smaller dappled she-cat.

"She is not a medicine cat and she's not your sister." Peppernose's harm mew stabbed at Shimmerpaw and she halted. Peppernose briskly continued after the clan but Echopaw pressed tightly against Shimmerpaw's flank.

"Don't listen to Peppernose! You are my sister!."

"No...Foxpaw was your sister..." Shimmerpaw looked at the ground.

Echopaw leaped in front of the tan and brown she-cat, "How can you say that!? We were all sisters! He's just unhappy because I'm his apprentice and he doesn't want one. But you know what, he doesn't have a choice. Which makes him madder. So now he has to crush everyone else to make us all like him." Echopaw had now pressed her head against Shimmerpaw's.

"Don't let him change you." Shimmerpaw mewed softly.

"No one can." The two cats locked eyes for a moment.  
"Now," Shimmerpaw cleared her throat. "I don't want you losing any of your warrior spirit, so I'm not going to go soft on you..."

"Yeah, yeah yeah." Echopaw flicked her tail playfully.

"Race you to the clan?" Echopaw nodded and they were off. Shimmer had a good lead on Echopaw but as they approached the clan Echopaw closed the gap, even though her legs were much shorter than the apprentice warrior's. Upon their approach leaves and debris went flying up causing Peppernose and Bluefrost to hiss simultaneously, and Blazingstar to chuckle on how the two brothers were so alike.

Once they arrived at the camp Mintyheart and Spiceheart headed right to the warriors den, knowing they'd be on one of the dawn patrols.

"No late nights tonight?" She purred softly in his ear. Shooting her a quick glare he flapped down in his nest.

Winterstorm popped his head out of the warriors den. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he bounded past Adderfang to where Shimmerpaw, Echopaw, and Skypool were.

"How was the Gathering."

"Okay." Skypool's mew betrayed something.

"What happened?" Worry flashed in the white tom's eyes. "What happened? Was Shimmerpaw good?"

"I'm not a kit and I don't need to be babysat! I can look after myself!" Shimmerpaw's mew was surprising harsh. Turning she pelted to the apprentice's den were Palepaw was softly snoring. Both warriors looked shocked after the young she-cat.

"She had a rough night." Echopaw addressed her mother and Shimmerpaw's mentor.

"I don't understand. She was fine at the Gathering." Skypool's mew was heavy with concern.

"She'll be fine with some sleep." Echopaw assured her mother. "Something was said on the way back that hurt her but she's strong and will recover from it." Echopaw pressed her nose into her mother familiarly soft fur.

"I was proud of you tonight." Skypool's mew was warm. "I'm sure your father and sister were looking down on you as well." Echopaw nodded and seeing Peppernose crossing the clearing turned and followed him. As she followed him into his...no _**their **_den, she thought of Shimmerpaw. She knew her friend's heart was still hurt by Peppernose's harsh words but knew only time and love would heal her wounds. Sunstone hissed as the two medicine cats passed her but no cat looked her way.

Blazingstar passed around the empty camp. Sunstone was outside the entrance, tucked neatly in a ball, guarding the camp. Soft snores came out of all the dens were his clan slept. His mind would not rest. Too many thoughts of the future and bloody battles haunted him. For his clan he'd be strong but in his heart he knew that very very grave times faced them. As he passed he felt eyes on his pelt. Turning he scanned the camp quickly, locking onto the owner of the eyes almost instantly. Relaxing every part of him he let out a purr. The eyes belong to one of the kits in the nursery. He softly padded over and he was surprised that the kit didn't turn and disappear into the nursery. Crouching down at the entrance he waited for a moment. The golden eyes came closer as the kit placed it's tiny paws on the brambles to peer over. As the two cats met, the little kit inhaled deeply, taking in Blazingstar's scent.

"You're not Mintyheart." The little kit squeaked. Blazingstar could not control his purrs. This little kit, Jaggedkit he recalled, had no fear.

"No. I'm not. But I know him."

Jaggedkit's little eyes widened as he tried to focus his newly open eyes. "He's my dad."

"I know little one." Blazingstar's meow was smooth, "He's my best friend and we are both warriors of Forestclan."

Jaggedkit breathed in deeply again, smelling all the rich scents beyond the nursery.  
"Mintyheart says I'll be a warrior someday." Jaggedkit tried to stand up a bit straighter.

"He's right." Blazingstar purred. _It's amazing how this little kit will one day be a warrior. _Although looking at the little orange and black tom he noted that he was already bigger than most kits his age. "Now go back to Maplefur. I'll tell your father to visit you in the morning."  
The little tom nodded and padded half clumsily back to his nest and plopped down next to his two brothers.

The sun was just peeking through the cracks of the nursery when Jaggedkit opened his eyes. Next to him both Brackenkit and Maggotkit were fast asleep. Maplefur was also sleeping but where Preciouskit normally slept, in between Maplefur's paws, was empty. Blinking away his sleep he saw a small bundle of black and white fur. _That must be Preciouskit. _Standing he padded towards her as she slowly made her way to the nursery entrance. Hearing him, she turned her head and hissed in surprise and then, seeing it was her brother, flicked her tail.

"Sorry." She squeaked, "I thought you were Maplefur."

"You've opened your eyes!"

"I have." She purred lightly. "Maplefur said I was too little to move around the nursery yet so I thought I might as well see it. And since she was asleep..."

"You're fur is sticking out all over." Jaggedkit purred at his sister's spiky fur.

"That's because Maplefur hasn't attacked me yet and given me a bath."

"Well you need one." He mewed softly to her. She hissed at him in reply.

The brambles shook as Mintyheart slithered into the dim nursery. "You've opened your eyes!" He breathed and gave each kit a lick. Both kits sat up straighter, purring from their father's approval. Crouching down he got to their level, "So, how do you like seeing?" He purred.

"I like it." Both kits mewed in unison.

"I'm glad." Mintyheart couldn't look away from their shimmering eyes.

"You're pelt looks like mine." Preciouskit mewed happily.

"No it doesn't." Jaggedkit teased her. "Your pelt sticks out all over it clumps. Mintyheart's is sleek and smooth."

She glared at him. "Well you don't look like him either."

"Yes I do." He stood. "My pelt is just orange and his is silver." He mewed playfully.

"I think you both have beautiful pelts." Mintyheart's strong but gentle meow sounded. "And I think you both look like you. With a hint of your mother and I thrown in." Both kits stood and pressed up against him, taking in his scent mixed with the smell of the forest.

"I met another warrior last night." Jaggedkit looked up into his father's blue eyes.

"In your dreams?" Mintyheart questioned.

"No." Jaggedkit sat down. "I was awake." Preciouskit looked at her brother with wide eyes. She hardly got to see Mintyheart because Maplefur always held her, but seeing another warrior...

"He was black and white. Like Preciouskit." Jaggedkit recalled the tom. Mintyheart tilted his head, interested.

"He said he was your friend..."

Mintyheart twitched his whiskers. "Did he tell you who he was?"

Jaggedkit shook his head. "He said he was a warrior of Forestclan like you."

Mintyheart purred. "I guess you can say that." He purred to himself. "That was Blazingstar. He is my close friend but he also is the leader of Forestclan."

Mintyheart snickered as both Preciouskit and Jaggedkit's eyes grew to the size of full moons.

"You met the leader of the clan!" Preciouskit exclaimed.

Mintyheart flicked his ear, hearing his name in the clearing. "I have to go but I'll come back and show you the camp once Maggotkit and Brackenkit open their eyes too."

Jaggedkit lead the way back to Maggotkit and Brackenkit with Preciouskit on his flank.

"Guess who I met!" He called as leapt his sleeping littermates.

Mintyheart padded into the clearing to see that Bluefrost was arranging patrols.  
"I want Icecloud to take Adderfang, Sunstone and Echo...umm and...Skypool to the Meadowclan border and renew the scent markings. For the Shadeclan side..."

"I want to go on the patrol towards Shadeclan." Sunstone mewed flatly, already upset and reminded that she was not apprenticeless.

"Too bad. You're lucky you're even on a patrol." Bluefrost spat and continued. "I want..."

Blazingstar stepped out of his den, head and tail high, although his eyes betrayed that he had no sleep that night. "I want to lead the Shadeclan patrol. I'll take Winterstorm, Shimmerpaw, and Skypool."

Bluefrost nodded to Skypool to join the patrol as they pelted out of the camp.

"I was going to do some training with Palepaw this morning. We can go hunting after." Mintyheart suggested.

Bluefrost nodded. The camp would be close to empty till the patrols arrived back. When they did he'd go out and hunt as well.

Spiceheart tapped Mintyheart's flank with her tail. "Can I come with you? I like watching training and I heard you were hunting after..."

"Of course." Mintyheart mewed. _It's good for her to get out of camp. It has to be hard watching other apprentices train with Foxpaw's death so resent. _"Palepaw will have two attackers today." He purred to the wide eyed apprentice at him side.

It was close to sunhigh but the air was still cool beneath the colorful canopy of leaf-fall. Mintyheart, Spiceheart, and Palepaw had just left the training hollow and Palepaw had a slight prep in his step, seeing that his training had gone so well.

"You weren't joking Mintyheart." Spiceheart called to the silver and black tom, "Palepaw has to have the fastest paws in the clan."

"I told you. No matter how you attack you can't get a paw on him." Mintyheart boasted about the light ginger tom, hoping to boost his confidence. He glanced back at Spiceheart and could tell she was doing the same. _He did do wonderfully today. _Mintyheart purred to himself. The little tom padded next to him. _He's come so far. _Pride filled Mintyheart. _I was worried about my first apprentice but I think we turned out good._

"Why don't you go up ahead? I think a hear something rattling under that bush." Mintyheart flicked his tail towards a holly bush about 10 fox-lengths away.

Palepaw nodded and padded away. The two warriors stood still for a moment, then Spiceheart turned to Mintyheart, who was looking after where Palepaw disappeared.

"Are you going to see the tom today?" She asked in a hushed voice.

Pausing a moment he replied, "No. Tonight." He turned towards her, "And his name is Charming."

"Do you need me to cover for you?" She mewed.

"I don't think so. I'll spend time with the kits and lay with them until they fall asleep. Then I'll just slip out and be back around moon high."

Palepaw stalked towards the holly bush. Hearing a mouse nibble on a seed the crept forward, _I'm almost there..._. A shift in the wind betrayed his scent and the mouse took off towards its hole. _Mintyheart says I have fast paws. _Palepaw thought as he gave chase. He was gaining on the mouse, his eyes never leaving its pump body. His claws were almost in it when it darted around a huge tree. _I've got you now! _Leaping into the air and twisting around the tree Palepaw's claws landed into warm flesh. For a moment, his eyes closed, he was pleased. Only when a wet spray fried at his face did he release his claws and roll into the ground. He opened his eyes to see the black and white body of a skunk waddling away. His eyes burned! He fell to the ground, coking on the strong stench. It felt as if air won't reach his lungs. When he could take a breath it smelled so rancid that he felt light headed. He backed up blindly, trying to escape the order. Finally he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Mintyheart was in mid-mew when he froze. Palepaw shrieked from up ahead and his shriek was followed by a strong order. "Oh no..." Mintyheart breathed. Spinning he dashed off towards the stretch with Spiceheart right behind him. As the two warriors entered the clearing they just caught the last bit of a black and white creature disappear in some bushes. Mintyheart headed for the crumpled ginger tom and has he approached was almost knocked off his paws by the order. Pushing forward, even though he felt dizzy, he padded to Palepaw's side.

"What happened?" Mintyheart tried not to inhale.

"I'm going to die..." Palepaw's mew sounded like a kit's.

"No you're not. You just smell bad." Mintyheart tried to sound sympathetic, but he was running out of air.

"Really really bad." Spiceheart called from across the clearing. "Careful Mintyheart you'll end up smelling like that."

"Come on Palepaw. Let's go down to the stream and see if we can wash that skunk smell off you." He helped his apprentice to his paws and turned towards the stream.

"Try going under the water." Spiceheart called from the bank.

"I'm so cold." Palepaw was shivering in the leaf fall air.

"Come here." Mintyheart was belly deep in the water. "Let me smell you." The little tom approached.

"Yuck. Nope. No one will let you in camp like that. I don't think water is going to work Spiceheart."

"Maybe if he roles in leaves?" The she-cat's meow was hopeful.

Palepaw's fur clung to him as he clawed his way out of the stream. He flopped over and half-heartedly rolled in some dried leaves. Standing he shook his pelt but it still stayed plastered to his sides, making him look even smaller.

"Hummm...better?" Spiceheart mewed

"You tell me. I can't smell anything anymore." Mintyheart shook the water from his legs.

"Nope." Spiceheart shied away.

"They'll never let me back in the camp...I'll be exiled!"

"Keep your pelt on." Mintyheart padded forward. "We can try..." His paw slipped on some mud making him stumble. "...Mud. Yes! That might mask it! Roll in this!" He flicked his tail towards a large clump of mud near the bank.

"Mud?" Palepaw looked unhappy with Mintyheart's latest idea.

"Why not? We roll in it when we are trying to mask our scents from other clans. Now roll."  
Palepaw obeyed even though his face displayed his dislike. After a few moments he stood, completely brown.

"Brown is a good color on you." Spiceheart mewed playfully.

Mintyheart leaned closer to Palepaw. "Hummm...not too bad. I mean, you can still smell it but it's better." Spiceheart nodded in agreement.

Mintyheart flicked the mud off Palepaw's whiskers, "Come on. Let's get you back to camp and get some warm prey in you. I don't want you to catch green cough out here."

As Mintyheart finished his story to Blazingstar and Icecloud about Palepaw's condition, he looked over to see tiny heads peering out of the nursery. "Excuse me Blazingstar, Icecloud. I'm late for showing my kits the camp." Mintyheart ducked his head to the two toms.  
"Good luck." Blazingstar purred. "Don't forget anything." His meow sounded almost as proud as Mintyheart's.

Mintyheart bounded lightly over to the four little bundles. "Where is Maplefur?" He asked, wondering why she wasn't in her nest.

"She just left to make dirt." Jaggedkit responded.

"Are you going to show us the camp, Mintyheart?" Maggotkit asked, excitement glittering in his eyes.

"Of course." Mintyheart purred. "All of you jump out here."

The silver tom barely finished mewing when all four kittens scrambled out of their den. Preciouskit slipped past her brothers, getting out first, but Maggotkit and Brackenkit jump were right behind her. Jumping at the same time they knocked into each other and fell in a heap just outside the nursery. As the two toms scrambled to their paws, Maggotkit's paws landings on the tip of Preciouskit's tail. Letting out a squeak she turned and slapped him with her paw.

"Get off!" She hissed.

Maggotkit quickly stepped back, slightly scared of the growling she-kit. In the confusion, Jaggedkit had jumped cleanly out of the nursery and landed with only a slight awkwardness for his first attempt at jumping.

Mintyheart purred and gave each kit a quick lick as they stared around the clearing. Jaggedkit, Maggotkit, and Brackenkit's fluffy kit fur looked neat and tidy as Mintyheart finished, but as he finished Preciouskit's kit's longer fur, it still looked spiky, disorganized, and out of control. _Oh well. _Mintyheart thought. _I think she looks like the most beautiful she-kit I've ever seen. _Blinking slowly he stool and gathered the kits with his tail. "Now follow me."

All four kits crowded around Mintyheart's sides as he lead them towards the Medicine cat's den. As they walked he explained what a medicine cat does and how they are very important to the clan. Rounding the corner he hears a "Humph."

"What's wrong now?" Peppernose's mew sounded tired and annoyed.

"Nothing's wrong." Mintyheart mewed pleasantly to the black tom. "Just showing the kits the camp."

Peppernose's eyes fell to the four tiny cats around Mintyheart.

"Humph. Well I'm busy and I've got better things to do then have you interrupt me by showing your kits the best place to get into trouble or eat something deadly."

Brackenkit and Jaggedkit looked at each other is surprise and the black cat's fowl mood.

"Oh, stop being so grumpy." A extra cheerful sounding voice called out. Padding away from where she was rolling moss, Echopaw approached the kits, her brown spotted pelt catching the last of the sun's rays. "Don't mind Peppernose." She ducked down closer to the kits, "He's just old and grumpy." Purring she stood.

"Get back to work..." Peppernose's low growl sounded behind her.

Flicking her tail impatiently at him she looked fondly down at the kits. "Well I hope you enjoy the rest of your tour. I can't wait to see you all around the camp." Turning she jogged lightly back to her moss pile.

"Come on." Mintyheart's strong but gentle voice called. As he led them across the camp

Preciouskit asked, "Who was that spotted she-cat?"

"That was Echopaw. She's Peppernose's apprentice."

"I like her." Preciouskit stated, half to herself.

As the five cats approached the apprentice's den, the four kit's faces wrinkled up.

"Gross!"

"Yuck! What's that smell."

"I think something died in there..."

"That's Palepaw." A cream she-cat with a dark brown face and paws mewed. "He's a mouse brain and got sprayed by a skunk and now that whole den is going to smell like that for seasons!"

"Oh Shimmerpaw." A white and orange she-cat mewed softly. "Stop being so dramatic. It's not like your brother did it on purpose."

"Starclan I hope he doesn't make a routine of this dumb stuff. Because if he does, sorry, Skypool but I'm kicking him out." Shimmerpaw's mew was only partially kidding.

"Mintyheart?" Palepaw's whisper of a mew called from within the den. Stepping out he saw the kits. "Are these your kits?"

"Yes." Mintyheart mewed proudly.

"You smell bad." Preciouskit stated flatly. "Like, really really bad."

Palepaw wanted to recoil and hide from the little kits. He wanted to make a good impression on his mentor's kits. _Mintyheart must hate me. _He thought to himself. _I'm the worse apprentice any cat could have. He does a good job but all the other cats in the clan mock him because of me... _Palepaw's eyes dropped.

"Preciouskit, that's not very nice." Mintyheart meowed defensively.

"But it's true." Preciouskit looked wearily at the pale ginger tom, as if the awful smell might latch onto her.

"Just wait till you all start your training. There'll be times you come back to camp smelling worse. Now, say you're sorry to Palepaw. He's a warrior's apprentice and deserves your respect."

"Sorry..."Preciouskit mewed grudgingly.

Just then a loud, ear splitting yowl cut through the camp. Mintyheart quickly brushed his kits behind him and unsheathed his claws. Locating the sound he realized it was Maplefur. _She must have realized the kits are gone._

"MINTYHEART!"

"Over here." He called back calmly. "I've got them with me."

She pelted over and snatched up Preciouskit.

"Hey!" The little kit squeaked.

"What were you thinking?" Maplefur lashed her tail at Mintyheart.

"I'm showing them the camp..." He was surprised by the aggression in her meow.

"She's too young!"

"Preciouskit is as old as her brothers..." Mintyheart mewed confused.

"She's my kit and I say she's too young! I'm taking her back!"

"...they are all your kits..." Mintyheart squinted in even more confusion.

"But I haven't seen the Warriors den! I want..." Preciouskit begged.

"You are coming back with me." Maplefur turned and waddled back the nursery.

Mintyheart could just hear Preciouskit protest. "...I don't want to go back to the nursery! I want to stay with Mintyheart! I want to see the camp with my littlermates! Please..."

"Hush." Was Maplefur's reply.

The sun was weaker and slowly falling behind the trees as the silver and black toms touched noses in the large grassy field outside of the barn.

"How was your day?" Mintyheart breathed as he slowly withdrew his head.

"Better now." Charming blinked his golden eyes slowly as he gazed at Mintyheart. Every time he looked at him he was afraid to remove his eyes, in case the silver shimmering tom would disappear and never return to him. "How was your day?"

"Eventful" Mintyheart sighed.

"Oh?" Charming cocked his head in interest.

"Oh yeah. I'll tell you as we head to the barn." Mintyheart stood, shaking a leave from him pelt. He felt Charming's tail near his and shifting slightly, twisted his tail with the black tom's. The two tom's padded along towards the barn as Mintyheart told Charming about the events of the day.

"Haha, so Palepaw got sprayed by a skunk. I thought I smelled something odd on your pelt. I thought it was something to hide your sent when you went through Shadeclan, but know I

recognize it." Charming's mew was light and preppy.

"The whole clan smells awful. He got sprayed really good...poor little tom. He was doing so well in training that day...then that. He's got enough against him without smelling like crow food."

"There is a way to get rid of that smell." Charming twitched his whiskers.

"Spiceheart and I tried everything. We rolled him in dirt, mud, and practically drowned him, but he still smells as awful as if he just got sprayed."

"He has to roll in a tomato."

"A what?" Mintyheart squinted his eyes

"A tomato. It's a plant twolegs grow in their gardens. They have some up at the house. I'll get you one before you go." Charming twitched his tail as he spoke, "Not that I want you to go..."

"I know." Mintyheart pressed his shoulder into Charming.

Tiny paw steps mingled with the soft mews of she-cats reached the toms' ears. The five kits were playing in the dying rays of the sun outside the barn.

"They love when you visit." Charming purred as he looked towards kits, who hadn't yet realized Mintyheart and Charming had returned.

"They're getting bigger." Mintyheart looked down at the kits who about a moon older than his own kits.

"They grow fast." There was warmness in Charming's mew that made Mintyheart glance up at the black tom.

_He loves kits. _Mintyheart thought to himself as he gazed at the sleek black tom. _I wish I could tell him about my kits...but he might not like that...or like them..._

Charming's worried mew broke into Mintyheart's thoughts "Mintyheart? Are you okay?"

"Yeah yeah." The striped tom shook his head. "Just thinking."

"Well that's never good." Charming purred playfully. "Do you want to see the kits?"

Mintyheart nodded and the tom toms pelted towards the barn. "Mintyheart!" A chorus of mews rose up as they approached the barn. Within seconds Mintyheart was covered by little fluff balls. Laying down he let the kits crawl all over him.

"That's enough." Cloudy mewed after a few moments.

"Let the warrior breath." Icicle's mew was warmer now that she saw the bond building between her brother and the forest cat.

"Can we play?"

"Will you play with us Mintyheart?"

"Can we be warriors?"

"Is another clan attacking?"

"We'll stop those flea bags! Right Mintyheart!"

Mintyheart purred as the kits all gazed at him so expectantly, their eyes shimmering with the hope of an adventure. "Well..." Mintyheart paused dramatically as the kits all leaned in pleadingly. "From what I can see two Shadeclan warriors have attacked your camp!" With a flick of his tail as a signal, both Mintyheart and Charming flattened their ears and let out low growls.

The kits all squealed with excitement.

"I'll get Mintyheart with Dusk and Sunny." Haze mewed quickly to his denmates. "Thistle, you take Tumble and get Bo...Charming."

The kits all nodded and began their attack on the 'invading warriors'.

"He's really good with kits." Icicle whispered to Cloudy as they watched their kits playing.

"Has he had kits of his own?" Cloudy meowed between licks of her fur.

"Boo never said anything about him having kits. And he looks younger, so he'd have to have them not to long ago..." Icicle was now half muttering to herself. "...he can't have kits...right?"

Cloudy looked up and watched the silver and black tom and his gentle and playful disposition with the five kits. "Well whatever the answer is he'd make a great father."  
Icicle nodded in agreement and began to lick her longer white pelt. _I'll have to remember to ask Boo about it. _She thought to herself.

The sun had set behind the trees and Icicle and Cloudy shared a young hare while Charming and Mintyheart were licking their paws clean after sharing a pump mouse. The kits all played nearby in the tall grass around the barns edges.

"Sunny. Thistle. Come here." Cloudy called. "It's time to go to the hayloft."

"It's Thistlekit." The brown tom relied as his sister followed him out of the grass.

Icicle took another bit of rabbit and she glanced to see where her kits were. Dusk and Tumble were batting around flower back and forth and softly mewing to each other. The white she-cat began to lick her paw. "Four more tosses" she warned to her daughters.

"Where is Haze?" Mintyheart's mew was concerned.

"He's by the fence." Icicle's mew showed no worry.

"I don't see him..." Mintyheart stretched his neck up to look around better.

"He's always there." Charming's calm mew made Mintyheart relax.

"Why?"

"He likes to look at the horses." Icicle didn't look up from her washing. "Are so staying with us tonight?"

"I can't." Mintyheart caught the pain in Charming's eye before it flickered away. "I'd love to, but I think I'll be missed."

"You'll be missed here too." Charming muttered under his breath.

"I know." Mintyheart pressed closer to the coal black tom. "But you'll find me again."

"I always will." Charming purred remembering their first encounter. "We'll I'll go up to the garden and get you Palepaw's tomato."

"Why are you getting Mintyheart a tomato?" Icicle stopped her rhythmic licking.

"His apprentice got sprayed by a skunk." Charming mewed as he stood. "I'll be right back."  
Icicle and Mintyheart watched as the black cat disappeared into the growing shadows.

"He's fond of you." Icicle mewed to Mintyheart who was surprised by the mix of protectiveness and warmth in her mew. "We all are."

Mintyheart bowed his head in embarrassment. "Thank you." He knew that his bond with Charming was growing and becoming more evident to the other cats surrounding them. _Thank you for accepting us without judgement. _Mintyheart thought to himself but couldn't voice the words.

"Okay to two." Icicle mewed warmly to her two daughters, "time for bed."

"Coming!" The two little she-cats bounded over to their mother. "Goodnight Mintyheart." They both purred in unison and then pelted away giggling.

"Looks like Bo...Charming has some competition." Icicle purred.

"Haha. He better watch his back." Mintyheart meowed playfully to the white queen. "I can get Haze for you."

"Thank you." She mewed as she stood and headed into the barn.

Mintyheart wove softly through the tall grass till he saw the little gray and white kit sitting next to a fence post. His green eyes fixed on the large creatures grazing far off.

"So I hear you like horses."

"I do." Haze's eyes flickered to Mintyheart for a moment before returning to the horses.

"Why?" Mintyheart asked earnestly.

"They are just so big and powerful...yet they are just as gentle and kind. Plus they can run really fast and make thunder with their paws!" Haze flicked his tail in excitement.

Mintyheart gazed out at the horses, which he'd never seen before. "Your mother wants you."

"Can we go after they run?" Haze's mew was so desperate.

"Of course. When do they run?" Mintyheart looked at the little kit who was sitting so patiently.

"Any moment..."

Just then one of the horses raises his head and let out a loud high pitched call. The two others did the same and within moments all three were running through the field. The ground began to shake as the horses drew closer, their hooves pounding the ground. Mintyheart laid flat unable to move as he watched with a semi-wildly look as the horses headed towards them at an incredible speed. Within moments it was over. The horses had halted on the other side of the fence and were snorting to one another. Standing up Mintyheart glanced at Haze who was sitting unmoved and unnerved, gazing at the horses who towered over him.

_What a brave little kit. _Mintyheart thought. Looking up Mintyheart was taken back by the sheer size of the horses. They had seemed much smaller when they were out grazing but Mintyheart also saw a bit of what Haze adored at about the creatures, they were not threatening.

"Have you ever touched one?" Mintyheart asked without looking at the little tom.

"No. My mother doesn't even like it when I stay here when they run...but I do anyway."  
_What a brave and defiant nature. _Mintyheart thought _He'd make a good warrior too...all these kits would._

"Well..." Mintyheart began

"...Time for bed? Haze's mew was sad.

"I was doing to say, time for you to touch a horse...but if you want to go to bed..." Mintyheart's whiskers twitched mischievously.

"YES!" Haze jumped up. "But how?"

"Can you climb?"

"Sort of...Thistle and I climb a bit." Haze stammered.

"Okay, well you climb up this pole. I'll be right behind you so won't let you fall. I promise." Mintyheart looked down at the fluffy kit.

"Okay..." Haze placed his front paws on the fence post.

"Now, dig your claws in deep. Good. Now lift up one paw and reach up and dig it in. Good! Now pull yourself up. Very good Haze!" Mintyheart's mew was encouraging, as if the little cat was his apprentice.

They reached the top of the fence pole and Mintyheart nudged Haze into the center of the pole so he'd be safe, while Mintyheart balanced on one of the cross beams. _He's got raw talent. _Mintyheart thought. _I only helped him towards the end, when he was tired._

"Wow..." Haze breathed as he looked around. "I'm as tall as them..."

One of the horses saw the two cats on the fence and walked over. Placing its nose near them it breathed. A sweet smell of grass and oats swirled around them. Haze instinctively leaned forward and touched his tiny nose to the horse's massive one. Neither pulled away.

"Amazing" Mintyheart breathed.

The horse took a step back carefully, and tossing its head in the air trotted off after its herd.

"Thank you Mintyheart" Haze mewed as Mintyheart set him on the ground below the fence.

"Thanks for showing me your horses." Mintyheart purred back.

"I want you to be my mentor." Haze meowed, gazing longingly at the silver and black warrior.

Mintyheart couldn't suppress the rumble of purrs in this throat. "I'll come by and teach you and your denmates something new each time. But you have to promise to practice them."

"We will!" Haze squeaked enthusiastically. "I can't wait to tell Thistle about what I did! He's going to wish he was here too!"

The little kit pelted off towards the barn. Mintyheart sat still for a moment before he heard the grass rustle behind him. Turning he saw Charming with a large red lump in his mouth. He dropped it and it rolled to his paws.

"You are so good with them." Charming purred.

"You were watching?" Mintyheart turned to the handsome black tom.

"I'm always watching you." Charming purred deeply. "Here." He tried to suppress his purrs by switching topics. "This is a tomato. Just claw it open and have your apprentice roll in it. What color is he?"

"Light ginger."

"Humm...ok. It might stain his fur for a bit but have him wash it off and it should last more than a day or two. I'm not sure how you'll explain where you got it from..." Charming trailed off...

"I think of something." Mintyheart mewed. Leaning forward he pressed his muzzle against Charming's, "Good night. See you soon."

Charming closed his eyes and drank in Mintyheart's scent. _I wish I could go with you. _Charming pressed back and the two cats paused as the moon rose over the field. "Be careful." Charming mewed softly.

"I always am." Mintyheart stepped back and picked up the tomato, squinting his nose at the awful taste.

Charming watched him disappear into the forest line. _Please be careful..._

-

"I want you to roll in it." Mintyheart mewed to Palepaw has they sat looking at the tomato near the stream. The sun was up and the birds were chirping and the only sign of leaf-fall was the cooler wind.

"W-w-why?"

"Because I'm your mentor and you smell bad." Mintyheart restored.

"Wh-wh-what is it?" Palepaw stammered as he sniffed the red mush.

"A tomato."

"How do you kno-kno-know that?" Palepaw asked looking nervously at the tomato as if it might attack him.

"I told you, I had a dream from Starclan." Mintyheart answered.

"Sure you did." Spiceheart flicked him on the flank.

"Hush!" He growled as she twitched her whiskers.

"Why did Starclan send you a dream about me?" Palepaw's eyes grew larger.

"Because they can smell you from their hunting grounds! Now roll in it!" Palepaw did, but timidly.

"Get all of you covered." Mintyheart instructed. "...good...Now go rinse off in the stream."

"I'm all red and smelly!" Palepaw whined.

"Not for long. Go. You'll be fine." Mintyheart flicked his tail towards the water and purred as a red dripping Palepaw passed him.

"A dream from Starclan, eh?" Spiceheart murmured as soon as Palepaw reached the bank.

"Yes..."

"I didn't know Starclan hunted so close to kittypets." Spiceheart teased.

Mintyheart's fur automatically stood on end. "He's not a kittypet!"

"Sorry!" Spiceheart quickly mewed meaningfully. _He's grown really fond of him..._She thought. _He's willing to protect him. But Mintyheart is a warrior and my friend and I don't want him to ever leave us..._


	14. Chapter 14

Spiceheart limped to the Medicine Cat's clearing. She had stepped on a thorn on the way back with Mintyheart and Palepaw and her paw was gushing blood. _How come I always get thorns in my pads?_

"Peppernose!" she called, standing on three legs.

"He's out." Spiceheart turned around to see Echopaw padding into the clearing.

"Where?"

Echopaw shrugged. "He said he was going out to collect herbs. Why? What's wrong?"

"I got a thorn in my paw," she mewed as she held up her bloody paw. Echopaw walked over and took a sniff.

"I can get it out," she said enthusiastically.

"Do you- do you know how?"

"Of course! You just have to pull it out with your teeth!" Spiceheart sat down and held out her injured paw. Echopaw then gently took her paw and flipped it on the ground, pads up. "Wait here," she told Spiceheart. Echopaw went into the Medicine Cat's den, got a ball of moss and dipped it into the pool of water and carried it back to Spiceheart in her jaws. Echopaw held it over the injured paw and squeezed it. Fresh water dripped and washed away most of the blood until Echopaw could see the top of the thorn. It was very worked in. Echopaw gently tried to grab the thorn but it was small and slippery and her fangs slipped; she ended up nipping Spiceheart instead. Already in pain and not expecting more, Spiceheart let out a loud yowl.

As a reflex Spiceheart batted Echopaw on the head, thankfully with claws sheathed. The warrior pulled her profusely bleeding paw back, ears flat, and let out a low growl.

"What do you think you're doing?" roared an angry voice. Peppernose raced over to the two she-cats, flinging away the roots he had collected. He butted a startled Echopaw out of the way. Spiceheart glared at the medicine cats suspiciously.

"Come here," said Peppernose gruffly. "How come it's always you with the thorns in their pads?" Spiceheart let out a hiss as Mintyheart, Skypool, and Blazingstar padded into the clearing, curiosity and alarm on their faces. Peppernose held Spiceheart firmly and began licking her paw quickly but gently. Spiceheart's breathing slowed to normal. Looking up at the warriors he growled, "You all can leave. She'll be fine." Mintyheart and Skypool padded out reluctantly, not before Skypool shot a nervous glance at Echopaw. Blazingstar stayed where he was and Peppernose didn't say anything about it. Looking at Spiceheart he said clearly, "I'm going to pull out the thorn now." And without looking at his apprentice he said, "Echopaw, go fetch some marigold and dock, if you can manage to remember what they are."

Echopaw quickly padded to the den to get what Peppernose requested. Peppernose rolled his eyes and pulled out the thorn in about a second. Echopaw gently laid down the correct herbs with a determined look on her face. Peppernose chewed the herbs into a poultice and gently rubbed it into Spiceheart's wounded paw.

"No more duties for you today or tonight. That thorn went deep. And no walking on it. Come back and see me tomorrow. Me, not Echopaw," he emphasized. Spiceheart nodded.

"Thank you," she mewed softly and she limped out. As her tail disappeared behind the ferns Peppernose rounded on Echopaw, who's only sign of anxiety was a twitch of her tail.

"What do you think you were doing?" he hissed dangerously, looming over her.

"I was trying to heal her!"

"Heal? HEAL? You call that healing?! You made it worse!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Oh, you're sorry! Well, that makes it all better then—"

"Peppernose." Both cats turned around. They had forgotten that Blazingstar was still there.

"I thought I told you to leave," Peppernose grunted.

"I happen to be your leader," reminded Blazingstar coldly. Peppernose let out a low hiss that faded into nothing. Peppernose turned to Echopaw.

"What did you try?" he grudgingly asked her, almost civilly.

"I dripped water over it to wash it out then I tried pulling it out."

Peppernose sighed. "You shouldn't use water unless it's warm water. The water we have in the den is rather cold. The coldness will stiffen up the paw and you don't want that. So we lick the paw clean, which also softens it and works the thorn out enough until you can grab it with your teeth. Usually it's fine after that, and I tell my patients just to give it a good lick and take it easy. Considering the size and depth of this thorn I applied marigold and dock. Why did I use marigold and dock?"

"Marigold to ward off any infection and dock because…" Echopaw trailed off.

"Dock is good to use in scratches, also on cracked pads. In this case it wasn't a scratch but since dock works fast on pads it will help heal anyways." Echopaw nodded. "Got it?" Echopaw nodded again. "Then…" Peppernose took the thorn that was in Spiceheart and jabbed it in his own paw. "Get it out."

Blazingstar's eyes widened in surprise but Echopaw narrowed her eyes at the mercy of another chance. She stepped forward and did as Peppernose had told her to do, and removed the thorn without making the wound worse. She also applied the poultice.

"I did it!" Echopaw exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, yeah, well done," muttered Peppernose turning to collect his fallen roots.

Blazingstar smiled at Echopaw before asking: "Peppernose, you're going to take Echopaw to the Moonstone tomorrow night, aren't you, since it's the half-moon?"

"I guess," he said grudgingly. "I don't have much of a choice, as she's my…. apprentice."

"Yeah, that's right! I am your apprentice!" said Echopaw, her tail high. "Why are we going to the Moonstone?"

"Every half-moon all the Medicine Cats go to the Moonstone and do… stuff."

"That's so cool! What do we do? Do we share secrets? Learn about cool herbs? Share dreams with StarClan?"

"You'll find out when we get there."

Winterstorm and Shimmerpaw came back into camp carrying prey. Once they dropped it off Winterstorm padded over to Skypool who was pacing outside of the Medicine Cat's den.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"Oh, Winterstorm!" Skypool exclaimed when she saw him. "Spiceheart got a really bad thorn stuck in her paw and Echopaw tried getting it out but only made it worse! And then I heard Peppernose yelling at her! But Blazingstar is with them I think—"

"If Blazingstar is with them he won't let anything happen to Echopaw," said Winterstorm logically.

"I know, I know! But Peppernose can be so ruthless! I still remember -"

"—when he gave you that scar when you were training?" finished Winterstorm, a slight chill in his voice. Skypool nodded. Just then Blazingstar padded out. Winterstorm and Skypool looked up.

"Everything is okay," meowed Blazingstar, guessing Skypool's fears. "A little arguing. Nothing more. Echopaw will be going to the half-moon meeting tomorrow night." Winterstorm nodded, but Skypool still looked nervous. "She'll be fine." And he padded to the warrior's den as Skypool gave a weak purr.

When Blazingstar entered the Warrior's den he saw that Spiceheart was the only occupant. He padded up to her and the she-cat's eyes flashed open in the dimming light.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," answered Spiceheart curtly.

There was an awkward pause, and then: "Well, rest up okay? I don't want to see you out of commission for too long." And then Blazingstar lightly touched Spiceheart's nose, which surprised both of them, and he turned and left.

The next morning the entire clan was awoken by a cat's terrified yowling. This cat was Palepaw, of course. By the time everyone, including the elders, had run out of their dens, claws unsheathed, Palepaw had already detached Maggotkit, Jaggedkit, and Brackenkit from his body. Preciouskit was still clinging onto his tail and he pelted around the camp.

"Not another skunk!" groaned Sunstone, when she saw Palepaw trying buck off something small, black-and-white, and fluffy with an even fluffier tail.

"WHERE'S MY KIT?!" bellowed a furious Maplefur, her pelt completely fluffed up so that she actually looked like a proper warrior.

"Can't she at least pretend she…" Skypool complained before trailing off, realizing that it wasn't a skunk.

"PRECIOUSKIT!" Yowled Maplefur and launched herself at the little apprentice. Every cat seemed to move at once. Winterstorm and Blazingstar tackled Maplefur and barely held her down. Skypool rushed forward to remove Preciouskit as Mintyheart grabbed his apprentice by the scruff.

"It was just a few kits, Palepaw, just a few kits," murmured Mintyheart softly in Palepaw's ear. Shimmerpaw led the rest of the kits out of the Apprentice's den.

"Stupid apprentice," muttered Adderfang before turning back into the Warrior's den. Echopaw padded back into the Medicine Cat's den and came out a moment later with some herbs in her mouth. She dropped them off next to Palepaw.

"Thyme and chamomile for shock. Right?" she turned to Peppernose, who just nodded. Echopaw had to stuff the herbs in a frightened Palepaw, his eyes wild and his heartbeat erratic. "It's okay…" she murmured soothingly, stroking his flank with her tail. After a few moments of this, Palepaw calmed down enough to sit up. By now all the kits had been ushered into the Nursery with Maplefur and Skypool. Seeing that Palepaw was going to be fine in the paws of Echopaw

Mintyheart padded into the nursery to make sure that his kits were okay.

Preciouskit was squirming in the clutches of Maplefur and drenched in saliva. Skypool was nudging the toms into the nest besides Maplefur's, purring. Mintyheart sat down next to Skypool, relieved to see that they were okay and unharmed but also slightly angry.

"What do you kits think you were doing sneaking out of the nursery?" he tried to asked calmly but a small growl sneaked into his mew. None of his kits answered. "I thought you all would have known better. You disappoint me. Whose idea was it?"

"Mine!" squeaked Preciouskit under the weight of Maplefur, who was completely oblivious to the conversation as she put forth all her effort into giving Preciouskit a bath.

Mintyheart swung his head over to her. "Why did you do that? You know you're supposed to stay in the nursery!"

"We wanted to see if your apprentice was still stinky!" Mintyheart sighed. _Kits…_

"And you couldn't have waited until morning?"

"Well…"

"I'm sorry, Mintyheart," apologized Jaggedkit.

"Yeah, me too, Mintyheart. We're all sorry," mewed Brackenkit diplomatically. Maggotkit nodded.

"What was wrong with going to see the stinky apprentice?" said Preciouskit.

"Kits aren't supposed to leave the nursery without a warrior or a queen. Something could have eaten you up!" Mintyheart gave a false bite at the kits a whisker-length from them. They all squealed with mock terror and tumbled around in their nests.

"I'll protect the kits from the fox!" Jaggedkit promised, puffing out his small chest.

"I'll be the fox!" volunteered Brackenkit.

"I don't need protecting!" shot Preciouskit. And the kits went about their game, tussling and turning, except that Preciouskit was pulled back into her mother's clutches.

"I knew you couldn't stay angry at them for too long," murmured Skypool so the kits couldn't hear. Mintyheart glanced at Skypool and saw a kind knowing look in her eyes.

"They are all so precious to me," stated Mintyheart.

"I know. Kits have that effect."

"Do you miss having kits?"

"Of course," purred Skypool. "The important thing is to treasure every moment with them."

"While we're up we might as well get started," growled Peppernose in Echopaw's ear.

"With what?" she asked.

"Going to the Moonstone!" barked Peppernose, his ears flat.

"Oh, yeah! I had almost forgotten!"

"Hmmph. Well, let's go."

"Now?"

"No! Tomorrow when it's not a half-moon!"

"I meant—" countered Echopaw but Peppernose had already turned towards Blazingstar and grunted: "We're leaving now."

"Oh, okay. Safe travels!" the leader said, slightly startled by Peppernose's abruptness. The black tom padded out of the camp with Echopaw on his heels.

Once out of camp Echopaw began badgering Peppernose with questions. "So, who goes to all these meetings? How many cats will be there? What happens exactly? Will I be tested? Will I share dreams with StarClan? Where is the Moonstone even? How long will it take for us to get there-"

"Could you just shut up for one minute?" growled Peppernose.

"Could you stop being a jerk for one minute?" retorted Echopaw. Peppernose glared at her and she glared back. Peppernose inwardly groaned. Why did he have to be stuck with such an annoying apprentice?

"So what's going on?" she pressed.

Peppernose sighed. "I thought I already told you all of this."

"No, you just said that I would find out later. And it's later now."

"Humph. At every half-moon the medicine cats of every clan will journey to the Moonstone to share tongues with StarClan," began Peppernose grudgingly. "It's under truce, like the Gathering.

And we share dreams with StarClan."

"But how?" questioned Echopaw further.

"You press your nose up against the Moonstone and StarClan will send you dreams to sleep."

"And what is the Moonstone, exactly?" shot Echopaw.

"Isn't that obvious?" shot Peppernose back. "A stone that looks like the moon."

"That's so cool!" exclaimed Echopaw.

"Yup…" muttered Peppernose.

"Are we almost there yet?" asked Echopaw.

"No! And you should know better! We're not even half way through ForestClan territory! Didn't Sunstone ever show you the territory?"

"Yes, but that's your job now," Echopaw said. Peppernose sighed. There was no end to this she-cat.

"Can you test me on the herbs? Please?" begged Echopaw. Peppernose shot a glance at her and saw that she was actually sincere about her request.

"Fine. What is borage used for?" quizzed Peppernose.

"It helps increase the milk in an expecting and nursing queen," answered Echopaw.

"It also can be used to treat fevers. Additionally, it should never be used dried, only green."

"Milk and fevers; green not dried. Got it," repeated Echopaw. And so their quiz continued all the way to the Mothermouth, which they approached near sunhigh.

"Well, we're here," announced Peppernose casually.

"What?! Really? Where's the Moonstone!?"

"Shh! You see those rocks up there?" he indicated with his head. Echopaw nodded. "There is a cave with the Moonstone in it. We'll have the meeting at sundown."

"Sundown?" Echopaw took a step back, confused. "But… why did we leave so early? We could have been leaving now and still gotten here in time."

"Yeah, well. Every other medicine cat will be leaving about now, and Tangleberry, Tawnyfoot and his snooty apprentice Pheasantpaw will meet at Four Trees to walk together, and I'd rather not."

Echopaw grinned when he called Pheasantpaw snooty as she remembered her last encounter with the she-cat, but then frowned at Peppernose's attitude. "How come you don't like other cats?" she asked boldly.

He spared her a glare before saying, "I just don't."

"But there must be some—"

"Let's hunt," he cut her off. Echopaw frowned at the lack of answers, but nodded anyways. "Don't go too far," he instructed. And they went their separate ways.

Echopaw was stalking a rabbit that was rather plump despite the colder weather. She was just about to pounce when she stepped on a leaf. It didn't make that much noise, but still enough for the rabbit to notice something. It sniffed the air and tore off down the slope. Echopaw pelted after it, determined not to show up empty pawed in front of Peppernose. Not surprisingly the rabbit got the better of her and Echopaw lost the prey … and found Peppernose. He was already walking back to where they had started with a rabbit in his jaws; her rabbit!

"Hey! I was catching that!" she started.

He set down the rabbit. "Were you? I didn't see or smell you."

"I had been chasing it for a while—"

"You had been chasing it for a while? You?"

"—and, yeah, so?"

"Didn't you learn anything about catching rabbits from Sunstone?"

"She's not my mentor." And there was an awkward silence.

Peppernose sighed. "In the forest you stalk a rabbit, but up here near the moorlands there is more room to run, rocks to hide behind and stuff. No brambles or bracken to stumble over. So, as I'm sure you found out, you need to chase rabbits, not stalk them."

"That's what I was doing!" Echopaw snapped. Peppernose's nostrils flared, but Echopaw didn't care. She was so sick of this!

"Meaning that you have to have long, powerful legs that are accustomed to speed. Only the fastest MeadowClan cats can keep up with a rabbit. So usually you just have to outsmart them or ware them down. Also, you were upwind, I was downwind. That rabbit could smell you and it couldn't smell me."

"So since you're not a MeadowClan cat how did _you_ catch it?" she said saucily.

"I got lucky. The rabbit was trying so hard to avoid you it didn't notice me," he mewed with a slight smirk.

Echopaw frowned. Trying hard not to claw his muzzle she said, "Well, I guess that just means we make a great team!" It was Peppernose's turn to frown.

"Well then, if we make such a great team we should probably share, right?" he said with equal pretense.

_Why did he want to share… _And then it hit her. She didn't want to share; it was a blow to her pride. "No thanks, I can catch my own. But thanks for being so thoughtful!" And as she turned she flicked his nose with the tip of her tail.

After Peppernose had finished off the rabbit Echopaw had returned with two mice, which she in turned finished off. Peppernose seemed to doze off and Echopaw decided to go look for some herbs. She didn't find much, mostly because she wasn't familiar with the moorland plants. However, she did find a few more mice and caught one of them. She debated about catching another one for Peppernose, thinking that he might be hunger later, but then decided against it. _He doesn't deserve it; he's so mean and grouchy._

She began padding back the way she had come and half way down the trail she met an angry Peppernose. "Where did you go?" he snapped.

"Exploring," she said simply. "I was fine."

"Humph. Well, the other medicine cats should be arriving soon."

When they had returned to their spot they found Tawnyfoot, Pheasantpaw, Willowdance, and Shellpaw sniffing the ground.

"There they are!" mewed Pheasantpaw. And the other cats looked up and flicked their tails in greeting.

"Where did you two go?" inquired Willowdance.

"Just for a walk," muttered Peppernose.

"You haven't seen Tangleberry, have you?" asked Willowdance. Peppernose shook his head.

"Maybe she'll catch up?" suggested Shellpaw. Peppernose shrugged and he began walking towards the group of rocks. Echopaw followed in tow.

"Where is Tangleberry?" asked Echopaw quietly so the other cats couldn't hear.

"I don't know. Perhaps she got caught up with something," he said indifferently. Echopaw stopped talking for a moment as she took in her surroundings. Large brown rocks covered the landscape as they padded uphill. Before long they were walking on a flat rock ledge surrounded by the rocks. Peppernose led the group through a tunnel and before long they were all walking in the dark. The only thing Echopaw could sense was Peppernose's scent, which she followed. Eventually she saw a white light up ahead and before her eyes was a large moon-lit stone.

"The moonstone," she gasped. She stopped in her tracks in awe of the brilliant stone.

"Keep moving!" hissed Pheasantpaw behind her. And Echopaw sped up to catch up with Peppernose.

Once all the cats were gathered around the stone, Peppernose cleared his throat.

"StarClan!" Peppernose called up to the sky, which Echopaw could see through a hole in the ceiling. "I bring you Echopaw, my apprentice, and pray that you accept her as you once accepted me." Peppernose went to press his nose to the moonstone, but Tawnyfoot waved his tail to halt him; Peppernose frowned.

"Hold on, I too have a ceremony to perform. I, Tawnyfoot, medicine cat of MeadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons. Pheasantpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Pheasantpaw said proudly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Pheasantpaw, from this moment you will be known as Pheasantwing. StarClan honors your knowledge and your confidence, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of MeadowClan." Tawnyfoot rested his muzzle on her shoulder and Pheasantwing licked his shoulder respectfully. Echopaw was tingling all over. That was going to be her one day. Pheasantwing looked proudly at all the other medicine cats as equals now. She was the first one to sit down and press her nose against the Moonstone. Echopaw saw all the other cats do the same. She looked at them for a moment and she followed in suit.

At first all she felt was darkness. Is this supposed to happen? She thought. Curious, she opened her eyes a fraction, only to have them fly open in surprise. She was sitting in a calm clearing surrounded by trees. She heard something rustling in the ferns ahead of her and she squinted to see what it was. To her joy Foxpaw padded out into the clearing. Echopaw rushed forward to touch noses with her sister, who returned the gesture.

"Foxpaw! I missed you so much!" exclaimed Echopaw.

"And I you, sister. Follow me," she asked. Echopaw nodded and followed her sister as they padded into the ferns. Foxpaw led Echopaw into another clearing that looked nearly identical to the ForestClan camp.

"How…?"

"Shh, just watch," mewed Foxpaw.

_And the clearing grew misty and Echopaw realized that she was now looking into the nursery, but it was different. Maplefur wasn't there with Preciouskit, Brackenkit, Jaggedkit, and Maggotkit. There were two small kits. They were trying to suckle from a pretty, black she-cat, but she was dead. Echopaw looked on, horrified, realizing that their mother died from some sort of sickness, judging by the smell._

"_Will you take them, Lizardtail?" asked a small, white and gray tom. _

"_I guess. I don't have much of a choice do I?" growled a brown she-cat with a skinny tail._

"_I would take them myself, if I still had milk," mewed Rosefur. _

"_That's easy for you to say, Rosefur, you only have Birchkit. I have Yellowkit, Frogkit, and Basilkit, and they are big, strong kits who need all of my milk."_

"_There's no one else," reminded Littlecloud. _

"_What did Patchstar say?"_

"_It was his idea."_

"_Fine…" mewed Lizardtail grudgingly. "What did Shadowface name them, again?"_

"_Pepperkit and Bluekit," said Rosefur gently. _

"_Humph. This nursery is way to stuffy and crowded now."_

"_It's okay, Lizardtail. Birchkit will be made an apprentice soon," said Rosefur sweetly._

"_Well, as soon as my kits are made apprentices, I'm out of here. Don't expect me to watch over those scraps when they don't need my milk anymore."_

_Rosefur looked at Lizardtail, horrified. "Well, maybe Cloudpelt will come in and take care of them a little bit…"_

_Lizardtail laughed. "Not likely! I don't know what Shadowface saw in that tomcat!"_

_Echopaw contemplated: Pepperkit and Bluekit? So that's Peppernose and Bluefrost as kits. Why is Foxpaw showing me this?_

_The scene shifted to out in the clearing. _

"_From this day forward, until this cat has earned his warrior name, he shall be known as Pepperpaw. His mentor will be Brownleaf," announced a black and white tom from the High Rock Echopaw assumed was Patchstar. Pepperpaw approached Brownleaf and the two touched noses; the pair sat down next to Bluekit, now Bluepaw and brown and white tom. Echopaw noticed that despite only being six moons old Pepperpaw had the makings of a good warrior. He wasn't as broad as his brother, but lean and muscular. He also wasn't as excited as she remembered being, although she glimpsed a satisfied and determined look in his eye._

_The scene shifted again and out of the mist she saw the training hollow that she used to practice in when she was a warrior's apprentice. _

"_Come on, Frogpaw! You honestly can't beat a kit that's barely out of the nursery? We're two moons older than him!" jeered light brown she-cat. Frogpaw couldn't spit a reply back to his sister as Pepperpaw's tail was in his mouth. No matter how hard Frogpaw bit and thrashed he couldn't get Pepperpaw off of him. _

_Suddenly an older apprentice with a dappled coat rushed into the clearing, yowling: "What do you mouse-brains think you're doing?!"_

_Pepperpaw narrowed his eyes at Frogpaw, and slowly let go. _

"_Pepperpaw started it!" the tan she-cat said immediately. _

"_It was just as much as your fault as it was Pepperpaw's, Yellowpaw!" spat Bluepaw. _

_The new cat sighed, "You know we're not supposed to practice rough! Do you want to get stuck cleaning the Elder's den again?"_

"_No, Birchpaw…" muttered Peppernose, glaring at the older apprentice. _

"_And all of you should know better! You're not even supposed to be out here without a warrior! Get back to camp, _now_, or I'll tell –"_

"_Then what are _you_ doing out here, Birchpaw?" asked Pepperpaw sneakily._

"_Looking for all of you, obviously!"_

"_Humph."_

"_Gosh, Pepperpaw, don't be so nice. Do you want Littlecloud to look at those wounds? The one on the tail is bleeding," offered Birchpaw._

"_I don't need some dumb herbs from a medicine cat!" spat Pepperpaw in Birchpaw's face. Birchpaw let out a low breath, trying to control his emotions. And with that Pepperpaw left the group to head back to camp, with Bluepaw in tow. _

_The scene shifted again to Pepperpaw and Bluepaw, much older now, sitting in the middle of the clearing. The entire clan was cheering their names, except it was: "Pepperfang! Bluefrost! Pepperfang! Bluefrost!" Echopaw wondered how his name got changed._

_Patchstar waved his tail from the High Rock. "Yes, yes. Even though we celebrate two new warriors, we also mourn the death of Cloudpelt and we must pay him our respects." And with that he jumped down from the rock and approached a gray cat lying in the clearing, dead. A few of the cats moved over to share tongues with Cloudpelt one last time but Bluefrost and Pepperfang stayed where they were, not even looking at the fallen warrior._

"_Congratulations," meowed a dappled tom._

"_Thank you, Birchstripe," answered Bluefrost, whereas Pepperfang nodded in acceptance._

"_You're not going to go say good-bye to him?" he asked, nodding at Cloudpelt._

"_Why should we?" It was Pepperfang who spoke this time. "He never cared about us, why should we care about him?" Birchstripe didn't answer him. With a jolt Echopaw realized that this was her father! Birchstripe turned away and she followed his gaze to a small white and ginger she-cat; and with another jolt she realized that was her mother as an apprentice. _

_Too quickly the scene faded away. Echopaw just wanted to drink in the scent and sight of her father but swiftly was brought back to earth by loud snarls, growls, and clashing of teeth. She was in the middle of a battle! Instinctively she unsheathed her claws and sank to the ground before Foxpaw said, "Don't worry. Nothing here can harm you." _

_Echopaw glanced around before noticing Pepperfang. Why were all these scenes about him anyways? A closer look at the battle showed that it had been going on for some time. She noticed that some cats were lying still on the earth where others were being tended to in the brush. She looked back at Pepperfang and let out a gasp. He was amazing! She had never seen such fighting! Every cat he faced he had the better of. He did acquire some wounds but he just kept going and going. No cat could stop him. She did notice that some cats he faced took one look at him and turned to fight someone else. They feared him, she realized. How in the world did he end up becoming a medicine cat when he was such a great fighter? _

_As soon as she thought that, the scene shifted one last time. _

"_I don't understand it, Pepperfang. I've tried everything I know," said Littlecloud._

"_But you're the medicine cat! I've had the sneezes for a-a-CHOO for three sun rises now. Surely – a-CHOO! Surely, you –"_

"_I'm sorry, I don't know what else to do."_

"_A-CHOO!" And the last sneeze sent a bunch of herbs flying through the air. Littlecloud watched them soar and then fall to the ground. An odd look came upon his face._

"_What?" grunted Pepperfang._

"_I… I think it's a sign from StarClan," he announced timidly._

"_Oh… and it was caused by my a-CHOO! Ugh—sneeze?"_

"_It concerns you," said Littlecloud flatly. Pepperfang stared at him._

"_You are to become my apprentice, and succeed me as the medicine cat of ForestClan." _

_Pepperfang kept on staring at him, and when he didn't elaborate, he said: "You're joking."_

A bunch of mist blocked Echopaw's view, and when it cleared she and Foxpaw were in the original clearing. Echopaw looked up at Foxpaw, confused.

"If you're wondering, Pepperfang's name changed to Peppernose when he became a full medicine cat," she laughed. Echopaw gave a small smile.

"Why did you show me all of this?" she asked.

"To help you understand," answered Foxpaw.

"Understand what?"

"I showed you this so that you can make use of the information," she said.

"Well, okay, but…" she trailed off as Foxpaw touched noses with her.

"I'm sorry, but the other medicine cats are waking now. Until next time."

"Good-bye…" murmured Echopaw.

"What did you say?" said a rough voice.

Echopaw opened her eyes to see Peppernose glaring down at her. "Nothing," she mewed.

Back in ForestClan territory an unhappy Palepaw trailed behind a small patrol of Skypool, Mintyheart, and Spiceheart.

"Come on, Palepaw! Keep up!" called Spiceheart, glancing behind her.

"I'm s-s-sorry. I d-don't like the d-dark!"

"Just think of it as good training, Palepaw. Every apprentice has to do a few night patrols before they become a warrior," comforted Skypool. Palepaw hung his head.

Mintyheart finished marking the border with ShadeClan and absentmindedly looked over to Charming's farm, even though he couldn't see it from here. He squinted in the dark. He thought he saw a bright light.

"Mintyheart, do you smell that?" asked Spiceheart, sniffing the air. Mintyheart, Skypool, and Palepaw all sniffed as well.

"Smoke!"


	15. Chapter 15

Echopaw arched her back in a delightful stretch and opened her jaws wide in a relaxing yawn. _So receiving dreams at the Moonstone is not restful. _She thought to herself. A deep purr rumbled inside her as she thought of Foxpaw and the joy she had having her sister at her side again. Peppernose muttered something and turned and Echopaw assumed it was something like "Come on" or "Why did you take so long" or "Please tell me you weren't accepted in Starclan so I can quickly return you to Sunstone." Echopaw flicked her tail lightly, pleased that she was accepted by the ranks of Starclan. Pheasantwing held her nose so high as she walked around the moonstone that Echopaw was sure she'd drown if it was raining. The thought made her whiskers twitch in amusement. Pheasantwing, seeing the joyful new apprentice, glared down at her.

"What are you so pleased about?" She spat quietly, so the other cats wouldn't hear her.

"Why wouldn't I be pleased?" Echopaw answered quickly, in a friendly yet cutting voice.

"You're only an apprentice," Pheasantwing mewed cockily. "I'm a full medicine cat."

"Really?" Echopaw faked surprise. "You mean I don't enter my training as a full medicine cat!?"

Pheasantwing hissed in irritation. Echopaw flicked her tail in farewell to the brooding she-cat. Shellpaw fell into step with her as she padded towards Peppernose.

"I'm glad you're an apprentice with us," She mewed gently to Echopaw.

"Me too."

"It's great to have another cat to talk to who..." Shellpaw stopped.

"-Who isn't arrogant and obnoxious!?" Echopaw's whiskers twitched.

"Yes!" Shellpaw breathed.

"Are you done chatting?" Peppernose's mew cut through the air.

"I'm ready." Echopaw dipped her head to Shellpaw. "It was nice meeting you."

"See you at the Gathering" Shellpaw called after Echopaw.

"Good." Peppernose's mew was sharp. "Follow me."

As the other clan's medicine cats settled down to spend the rest of the night outside the Moonstone's cave, Peppernose headed down the cliff with Echopaw paw steps behind.

"Why aren't we staying?" Echopaw questioned as soon as they were away from the other cats.

"I don't like chatting or gossip."

"Or other cats in general," Echopaw purred playfully.

Peppernose ignored her. "Were you accepted?"

"I was." She swore she saw his shoulders slump but she couldn't prove it. _That's right! You're stuck with me, Sneezy._

The two cats padded on in silence for some time. Echopaw swung her head back and forth trying to commit the trail to memory. The silence continued till Echopaw broke it with a little cough, which was followed by another, and then a stronger one. Peppernose's pace didn't slow but Echopaw staggered as she felt her throat swelling. Another deep cough rattled her body and her eyes began to water. By now Peppernose had halted and was looking back at his coughing apprentice.

"What is it now?" His mew riddled with annoyance.

"Can't...you...smell that?" Echopaw barely got out between hacks.

Peppernose inhaled but smelled nothing.

Echopaw's mind was swept away from the moor and into a grassy field she had never seen before. The field was brightly lit but the light flickered unnaturally. Turning around she saw the source of the light, a huge two-legged nest ablaze with fire. She could not tear her eyes from the blazing fire till a pelt brushed hers. Looking to her left she saw the cat from her dream, a silver tabby tom, Birchstripe, her father. He turned his golden eyes on her and mewed the sole phrase "It does matter now" and with that she was flung back to the moor. She blinked her eyes open to find that she had fallen to the ground. Getting up quickly she discovered that Peppernose was right beside her.

"What happened? Are you alright?" His mew wasn't so much worried or concerned but more factual.

"I'm fine. I had a dream...or something...but I wasn't sleeping..." Echopaw stammered.

"What was it?" His meow forceful.

"It was about a fire. A huge two-legged nest was on fire."

"A two-legged nest? That doesn't concern us." He looked away, all interest set aside.

"But..."

Peppernose cut her off "I saw it in my dream tonight as well, when I was looking over the clans territory with Starclan. The fire is closer to Shadeclan then it is Forestclan. I was told it doesn't matter..."

Echopaw locked eyes with him and she repeated her father's words, "It does matter now."  
Maybe it was the way Echopaw spoke her message but as soon as the words left her mouth Peppernose turned and pelted towards the Forestclan border, which was still a long way off.

~*~*~*~*~*

Without a second thought Mintyheart was pelting through the undergrowth towards Charming's home and the smell of the smoke. It was some time before he looked back, realizing that he was leading a patrol before they had smelled smoke, and thankfully they were behind him. The other warriors and his apprentice struggled to keep up as Mintyheart raced across his familiar route to Charming's. _I can't take the short cut through Shadeclan _He growled to himself. The cats raced on and, in record time, made it to the end of Forestclan territory. Without pausing Mintyheart pelted through the scent markers and veered towards the lit sky. Skypool paused for a moment, Palepaw at her side but followed as Spiceheart crossed the markers and followed the silver warrior. Spiceheart knew why her clanmate raced toward the fiery night sky but she hoped that this event would not betray his visits. The small patrol reached the top of a grassy hill and the barn, fully engulfed in flames, came into view.

"No!" Mintyheart's mew reached Spiceheart's ears.

Without speaking with his fellow clanmates Mintyheart dashed towards the barn. Palepaw's eyes widened as he watched his mentor and he turned towards Skypool for comfort. Spiceheart began after Mintyheart and was relieved when she heard Skypool and Palepaw behind her. Her eyes were fixed on the silver and black warrior ahead of her when a black streak caught her eye. She slower for a moment and then realized that it was the black tom Mintyheart had been seeing. As they approached the barn Skypool, Palepaw, and Spiceheart slowed their pace and gazed up at the burning barn. Mintyheart and Charming charged into the fire, side by side.

"Mintyheart!" Palepaw's shaky mew rang out in fear for his mentor.

"Where is he going?" Skypool's meow betrayed her shock that Mintyheart had entered the barn.

Spiceheart's body shook as she said, "There must be cats inside..."

"But how would he know that..." Skypool's confused mew shifted to a gasp as two cats staggered out of the barn.

Spiceheart recognized Charming but there was another cat with him, a she-cat, and in her mouth was a small kit. Skypool instinctively rushed forward as the queen set down her kit on the grass near the warriors. The queen locked eyes with Skypool and the two she-cats made a silent pact with each other. Skypool quickly picked up the soot covered kit and began to lick his back as he coughed deeply. His mother gave him a quick lick between the ears and headed back into the flames.

"How many more are there?" Spiceheart barely got out as she looked at the tiny kit.

"There are two more in his litter, and three kits in another litter." Called a tom's voice but when she looked up, the black cat was gone.

_I could have helped. _Spiceheart thought her eyes scanning the flames for any cat, but she saw nothing.

As if Skypool could read her mind, she mewed between licks, "It would be foolish to enter that barn without knowing where the kits are."

Spiceheart knew she was right but her heart ached to help. So she turned her thoughts to Starclan and begged for safety for the cats inside.

Charming followed behind the queen but as they padded along a flaming beam fell between the two, separating them. They tried to get around it but the fire was too intense and there was no way to her. A bit of motion caught his eye and he raced towards it, coughing as the smoke entered his lungs. As he approached he recognized the cat, even though it's pelt was covered in soot and ash.

"Mintyheart!?"

Mintyheart icy blue eyes contrasted the golden glow of the fire. "Is every cat out?"

Charming shook his head. "Only Thistle is out. His mother went back for the other two but I lost her after a beam fell." A burst of flame made both toms backup as the fire singed their fur.

"I've been looking for Icicle but I haven't found her." Mintyheart shouted over the raging flames. "I have covered this half of the barn but there is no sign of her."

Charming stared at the ground trying to think where his sister and her kits may be. The barn's floor was littered with hay, which only fed the hungry fire. His eyes widened as he recalled where Icicle had made her nest last night, "...the hay loft."

Both toms raced towards the stairs that lead to the hay loft, leaping over burning boards and jumping over mounds of flaming hay. The wooden stairs were already on fire but the two cats pelted over the embered stairs, ignoring the burning of their pads. Arriving at the top both cats came to a dead halt as they gazed at the sight before them. The mounds of stored hay were ablaze, with the flames flickering close to the barn's roof. There were few patches that were not on fire but they were few and far between. The two toms spit up and searched what little parts of the loft they could. Mintyheart moved along like a snake on his belly to avoid the worse of the smoke. He crept along for some time and was about to turn back when he heard a loud crack and part of the roof caved in. He dashed away from the falling flames and as he retreated rolled several times to put out the small flames on his pelt. The smoke choked him and he was forced to stop. Looking around for the stairs his eyes, now burning and watering from the heat and smoke, fell on a white looking lump curled up in a ring of fire. Mintyheart quickly leapt towards the white blob, landing on the other side of the fire. As he approached his mew caught in his throat, not because of the smoke but because of the cat that lay before him. Icicle was tightly curled up, her nose tucked in her paws, and the fire ate at her back. _Why doesn't she move!? Why doesn't she run! She's on fire!_

__As these thoughts crossed Mintyheart's mind the she-cat slowly looked up, anguish embedded in her eyes. A pelt brushed Mintyheart's as Charming landed beside him. Icicle weakly stood, patches of her fur still aflame, and revealed what she was protecting with her life_...her kits. _She collapsed, knowing that she hadcompleted her task. Charming dashed to his sister's side and Mintyheart went to the kits.

Icicle looked up at her brother, "Take care of them. Promise me!"

"I will." Charming whispered, touching noses with her. She closed her eyes and took one last breath, "Thank you..."

Charming closed his eyes, feeling the ache of losing a littermate. But the heat and intenseness of the fire gave him no time to grieve now. He turned to Mintyheart, who was sniffing the three kits his sister had protected.

"Dusk and Sunny are gone." Mintyheart dropped eyes.

"And Haze?"

"His breathing is weak, but he's awake. Is Icicle...?"

Charming shook his head. Mintyheart bent down and picked up the terrified little tom and followed Charming as he lead them towards the stairs.

"WHAT ABOUT MY MOM? MY SISTERS!?" Haze wailed.

"They are no longer with us." Charming called over his shoulder, sadness deep in his meow.

As the two toms completed the obstacle course that was the burning barn, they noticed that the barn was cracking and buckling more than earlier.

"We've got to hurry." Charming called. "It's going to cave in!"

Mintyheart pushed on harder, the kit in his mouth had grown silent. The scent of fresh air hit Mintyheart's nose and he fought back the coughs that was racking his body. He stumbled as he exited the barn onto the cold grass. Charming was at his side, supporting him, but seeing the other cats, moved away, not allowing their pelts to brush.

"Mintyheart!" Spiceheart jumped to her paws. Palepaw was wide eyed but dashing beside her.

Mintyheart set down the little soot covered kit and Spiceheart quickly scooped him up and padded towards Skypool. Palepaw placed his shoulder next to his mentor for support, if Mintyheart at all needed it. Charming just watched. Watching the two she-cats reviving the kits and the warrior and apprentice leaning on each other for both physical and mental support.

"Where are the others?" Spiceheart called as she set the gray and white kit down.  
A loud crack split the night air. All the cats looked at the barn and watched as it fell, in a flaming heap to the ground. At once all the cats hung their heads.

"I'm sorry." Mintyheart breathed as he lightly touched Charming with his tail.

A small wail could be heard from where the kits were and Mintyheart and Charming rushed forward to see what it was. Haze sat close to Thistle, as he was surrounded by unfamiliar cats who he assumed would soon be eating him. As Charming and Mintyheart approached he quieted down. Droplets of water began to fall from the heavy night sky and the barn's flames began to die away and hiss as the water slowly killed them.

"Oh Starclan! You poor little kits." Skypool mewed soothingly to the shivering toms. "Their mothers?" She asked quietly to Mintyheart, who only shook his head. She turned to the black tom near Mintyheart. "Are you their father?"

"No. Charming mewed in reply. "Haze's, the gray and white tom, mother was my sister."  
Skypool nodded sympathetically. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I know what it's like to lose a littermate. My name is Skypool. This is Spiceheart, Palepaw, and Mintyheart." She pointed her tail at each cat she named. "We are warriors from Forestclan. Do you know about the clan cats?"

"I do." Charming exchanged a quick glance with Mintyheart. "I have heard great things of the clans and Forestclan in particular; which is why I want you to take the kits back with you."

Every cat looked up at the ash covered tom as he spoke.

"You don't want them with you?" Mintyheart's mew was laced with surprise.

"I can't take care of them," said Charming as he looked deeply into Mintyheart's eyes. "The barn is gone and there is no other cat I can leave them with when I need to hunt."  
Mintyheart dropped his eyes.

"Are you sure you want them to join the clans?" Skypool's mew had no hint of aggression.

"I couldn't imagine a better life for them. Just watching the four of you now confirms my thoughts. How you and Spiceheart cared for the kits as if they were your own, how Palepaw rushed to his mentor's side, how you, Mintyheart, rushed to my aid and faced such unknown at my side, risking your own life. Yes, that's the sort of cats I want my nephew, and Thistle to become."

Skypool nodded, respecting the barn cats choice fully.

"You sure know a lot about the clans." Spiceheart remarked, letting her eyes flicker to Mintyheart.

"Your reputation precedes you." Charming's whiskers twitched.

Mintyheart coughed deeply as his lungs continued to burn. "Where will you stay?" He tried to hide the worry in his mew.

"There are still sheds around the barn and there is a srtip of woods unclaimed by the clans nearby."

"Make sure you take care of yourself." Skypool mewed in her motherly way.

"Will Blazingstar let these kits join the clan?" Spiceheart mewed with worry for the shivering soot covered toms.

"I don't care if Blazingstar will take them, I'M taking them." Skypool's eyes burned with the same fire that consumed the barn. "I promise you personally." She locked eyes with Charming.

"We need to get them back now." She turned to the kits. "Look at them! They are so little and covered in ash."

Charming bent down and touched noses with each of the kits. "Be good for Skypool and Mintyheart and all of the other warriors. Train hard. I'll miss you more than you'll ever know."

"Will we see you again?" Haze squeaked terror still in his eyes.

"I hope so." Charming gave them each a lick.

Skypool turned to Palepaw. "I want you to go ahead of us. Let the clan know we are returning and get Blazingstar out of his den right away." Palepaw nodded and set off at a brisk jog. She leaned down and grabbed Thistle by the scruff and began to walk after the pale apprentice. Spiceheart did the same and cast a knowing glance at Mintyheart.  
In the few moments that Mintyheart and Charming were alone they pressed against each other and breathed deeply.

"I will protect them with my life, at any cost." Mintyheart breathed in Charming's ear.

"I know you will. Thank you...for everything."

"Promise me you'll stay safe. I can't lose you." Mintyheart looked desperately at Charming.

"I'll come to see you sometime tomorrow. I'll try to bring you herbs..."

"No. Mintyheart. Just rest. I'll be fine. Really."

"I am coming. There is nothing you can do to stop me so don't even try."  
Charming looked deeply into Mintyheart's sparkling eyes. "I'll be looking forward to it."  
Mintyheart stepped forward and pushed his forehead against Charming's. "I love you.

"I love you too."

Mintyheart turned and limped on brunt paws after his clanmates.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
The patrol was only moments from camp. Palepaw rushed into the camp ignoring Adderfang who was standing guard and pelted towards Blazingstar's den. But the leader's brother was quick on his paws and the unknowing apprentice was laying belly up in the mud before he knew what hit him.

"Ahh!" Palepaw hit the ground with a thump.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Adderfang hissed, his yellow eyes glowing.

"I was...j-ju-ss-t..." The ginger tom stuttered.

"Just what! Spit it out! Where is the rest of the patrol?!"

"I-they-ar-r-r-r..."

"You are nothing but another oversized kit!" Adderfang hissed in Palepaw's face.  
Palepaw winced away as the warriors words pierced his heart. Suddenly the weight of the black and white warrior was lifted from Palepaw's shoulders and he opened his eyes in time to see another, slightly larger black and white tom slash at Adderfang's ears. Blood splattered to the ground from Adderfang's ear as Blazingstar growled commandingly.

"That's enough Adderfang! I would expect this mocking behavior from an apprentice but you are a warrior! What you just said to Palepaw was inexcusable and I think you owe him a major apology." Blazingstar glanced back at the apprentice, now covered in wet mud.  
"I'm sorry." Adderfang growled grudgingly but Blazingstar knew that was all he'd get out of his littermate.

Blazingstar turned his angry glowing eyes towards Adderfang, "And you will be doing Palepaw's duties tomorrow, which include rebedding the nursery and checking the elders for ticks."

Adderfang flattened his ears but said nothing. Instead he padded off and sat near the stump to get out of the falling rain.

Palepaw looked up at his leader gratefully, silently thanking Starclan that he was blessed with such a kind and honorable leader. He shuddered as he thought of the stories the elders, and even the warriors, told of Patchstar. Blazingstar's pelt stuck to his side in the heavy rain but still he stood tall and didn't shy away from the pounding droplets. "Where are Mintyheart, Spiceheart, and Skypool?"

"Th-they are coming. There was a fire..." As Palepaw spoke, sloshing outside the camp announced the patrols return. All three warriors were dripping and Blazingstar noticed Mintyheart's limp as well as the two bundles in Skypool and Spiceheart's jaws, at once.

"Peppernose! Echopaw!" Skypool shouted around the kits tiny body.

"They haven't returned from the Moonstone." Blazingstar mewed as he jogged towards her.

"What happened? Whose kits are those?"

It was Mintyheart who stepped forward as Skypool and Spiceheart set the kits down under the High Rock for shelter from the beating rain. "We were near the Shadeclan border when we smelled smoke. We followed it and came across a barn that was engulfed in flames." He reported to his leader. "A black tom informed me that there were two she-cats and their kits inside, so I followed him into the barn."

"Where are their mothers?" Blazingstar glanced at the sooty, dripping wet kits.

Mintyheart just shook his head.

"And the black barn cat?" He questioned.

"He lived. But he told he would not be able to provide for the surviving kits." Mintyheart dropped his head as he thought of Charming. Hurt. Alone. Grieving. "He gave them to us to take back to the clans."

"How many kits didn't make it?"

Blazingstar saw deep sadness in his friend's eyes as he mewed, "Four she-kits." The pain in his eyes was deep, as if he knew the kits. But Blazingstar assumed that this was because Mintyheart now had kits of his own.

The rain had lightened up and was now more of a gentle mist as the warriors and cats of the Forestclan emerged from their dens, alarmed by the voices in the clearing at this time of night as well as the smell of ash and soot that clung to the kits pelts.

"What in Starclan's name are those?" Sunstone hissed.

"Mintyheart's patrol brought them in." Adderfang growled to her.

Bluefrost padded over to Blazingstar, his eyes gleaming with questions. Blazingstar turned to the cats who had gathered around him and in an arch around the kits. Every cat was out of their nest, even Maplefur, who was fluffed up defensively outside the nursery, her kits peering outside. Blazingstar yowled to get his clans attention and to hush their murmurs.

"Mintyheart," He turned to his friend. "Are you well enough to address the clan?" Mintyheart nodded and stood up, wincing at the pain in his paws.

"No cat speaks until Mintyheart is finished." Blazingstar's mew was close to a growl. Every cat listened quietly as Mintyheart reported about the barn fire and the kit's tale. The only interruptions were when Mintyheart had to cough, which sounded more like deep hacks. When he had finished he sat down again and glanced at Blazingstar, who nodded gratefully.

"As soon as Peppernose and Echopaw return I want you in their den and treated. Understood?."

The silver tom nodded. Blazingstar turned to the clan, "These kit's fate is a choice that I as leader must make. But," He paused, "I am interested to hear what my clanmates think of the issue. I want everyone to feel free to speak. Elder to apprentice alike."

There was a pause before any cat spoke. It was Bluefrost who was heard first. "They are kitty-pets and don't belong in a clan."

"Their mothers were barn cats, not kitty-pets." Spiceheart corrected the deputy.

"They didn't get handouts from Twolegs. They hunted mice just like us," Mintyheart added.

"That doesn't make them warriors." Icecloud's meow was hash.

"Well they're not warriors." A voice came from near the elder's den. "They are kits." Heavystep's mew was warm as he spoke the word _kits._

"They are so little..." Shimmerpaw couldn't take her eyes off the kits who were huddled together, their eyes wide and their pelts dripping.

"I-I-I think we sh-should give th-them a chance." Mintyheart glowed as Palepaw raised his voice among the clan.

"Give them a chance? A chance to do what? Destroy the clan. Infect our proud clan with weak kitty-pet blood." Sunstone hissed and Palepaw shrunk back.

"We already are the weakest clan and mocked at Gatherings, "Adderfang turned, addressing his brother, "imagine if Forestclan showed up and you told the other clans what we are taking in stray kitty-pets into our ranks." Adderfang's tone was condescending of his brother's leadership.

"When has kindness ever been seen as weakness?" Spiceheart glared at Adderfang.

"Surely we all know what cruelty and a lack of compassion brings." Skypool's meow ranked the air.

"But these kits are not our problem...they are barn cats..." Winterstorm added in.

Skypool turned quickly to the white warrior, "They are in our clan now. We are not talking about some cat far off. They are right there!"

"Mintyheart shouldn't have taken them." Icecloud's deep mew sounded scolding.

"And leave them to die!?" Heavystep stood, with effort, as his large belly rocked.

"They had the black tom." Bluefrost answered matter of factly.

"He couldn't take care of them! He was hurt and has no other cat to help care for the kits when he's hunting!" Mintyheart's mew was as much attacking as it was defending.  
"But that's what happens when you're not in a clan..." Sunstone looked away.

"They didn't choose where they were born or who to!" Mintyheart stood.

"You're only defending them because you're not a full clan cat either. You're swayed by your impure blood...something you share with the unkept flea balls." Sunstone's eyes glowed with hate.

Mintyheart's tail lashed back and forth as he dug his claws into the ground.

"Mintyheart is the bravest warrior in all the clans!" Palepaw's screech shocked the sandy she-cat warrior. "He rushed into a burning barn to save cats in danger and is a better mentor than you ever could be! He's kind and helpful and loyal! He's hurt and he did that because it was honorable and the right thing to do even if it would cost him his life! I hope that one day I'm a warrior like him and not like you! Because all you are is angry, bitter, and selfish!...I-I'm sorrrr-sorry..." Palepaw's eyes grew wide as he realized what had all spilled out.

"Well said, Palepaw." It was Heavystep's mew that sounded across the clearing. "A cat should be judged by his actions not his bloodline. I think the kits should stay." The fat patched tom padded back to his nest with Elderleaf close behind.

"Blazingkit will have a hard choice to make. Tough little guy will make a good leader someday..."Elderleaf murmured as Heaveystep lead the delusional tom back to their den.

"We can't take them in! They look rabid and will hurt Preciouskit." Maplefur barked.

"They are not rabid." Skypool glared. "They are wet, grieving, and dirty. That's all." She bends over to give the shaking kits a loving lick.

"Well they are not coming in MY nursery!" Maplefur quickly hops into the nursery with a hiss.

"It's not wise to let them join." Icecloud looked directly at Blazingstar. "The clans view us as weak already and adding non-clan cats will just confirm their thoughts...and with Shadeclan already ready to attack..."

"We need more warriors." Spiceheart interrupted. "There are only three apprentices right now."

"There are four kits in the nursery." Icecloud retorted.

"...But it's going to be bareleaf soon." Bluefrost did not hide his bluntness.

"We don't need more mouths to feed. We can't keep up all this hunting and extra patrols. Every cat is already doing double the work." Winterstorm mewed.

"I will do triple the work to save these two lives." Skypool's mew was cold.

"I won't." Sunstone hissed.

"Neither will I. Not for some worthless kitty-pets." Adderfang growled.

"You would cast them out into the cold to die!?" Mintyheart couldn't believe his ears. "This is not what a clan is about."

"They are NOT clan cats." Icecloud repeated.

"What do you think we should do?" Mintyheart's mew was mocking.

"Take them back to where they came." Winterstorm stated. "They are the barn cat's problem and he should have to deal with it."

"You would cast them out?" Mintyheart was shocked.

"I would." The white warrior mewed firmly.

There was a pause...

"Then I'm going too." Skypool glared over at the white tom. "I don't want to belong to a clan that shuts out the helpless and kills the weak. I've endured that enough in my life and I will NOT do it again!" Skypool turned as Blazingstar's yowl rang.

"Enough!" He took a deep breath. "I have made my choice. These two kits will remain in the clan. They had no choice in what happened to them and I believe that they will make great warriors and will be a welcomed addition to the clan." As Blazingstar looked at his clan he could see the division between them. Mintyheart, Skypool, Spiceheart and Palepaw were relieved at the news. Sunstone, Adderfang, and Icecloud were unhappy, Winterstorm had a distance look on his face while Bluefrost looked to still be weighing the pros and cons in his head. But Blazingstar knew his own heart and he knew that he must follow it, no matter what consequences it might bring. "Skypool." Blazingstar turned to the ginger and white she-cat. "Will you be willing to foster them in the nursery as well as do a few patrols?"

"I would be honored." Pride glowed in her eyes and she added softer, "You are a great leader. Never doubt yourself."

As Skypool bend down to grab the kits the bramble tunnel rattled and Peppernose and Echopaw raced in. Peppernose headed towards Blazingstar and Echopaw dashed over to the little kits.

"Skypool! What happened!?" Echopaw gave each kit a sniff and began to lick them, like her mother was, doing to warm them.

"Barn fire." Blazingstar mewed to Peppernose.

"I know." Retorted the black tom.

"Oh really!" Blazingstar was surprised. "What did Starclan say about it?"

"They just warned Echopaw and me about it." Peppernose added flatly. "What are you doing with those?" He flicked his tail towards the kits.

"They will be joining the clan. Their mothers died."

"Humph. Well, they won't make good warriors."

"Why not?" Blazingstar was puzzled.

"They just don't look like they will. Hmm. Any casualties? Mintyheart, with me...NOW. Echopaw, take the kits inside the nursery and then come to my den and get supplies."

"Yes, Peppernose!" Echopaw called to her mentor between licks.


	16. Chapter 16

The sun rose into the sky but much of the clan lay still because of the eventful night. Bluefrost had sent out Icecloud, Sunstone, and Adderfang to do a full patrol of the territory and was joining Winterstorm and Shimmerpaw to go hunting. It wasn't till sunhigh that all the clan was together again. Skypool had slept in the nursery with Haze and Thistle and was protectively guarding them as if they were her own kits. Maplefur, on the other hand, had hissed all night about the two little toms and had laid between them and her own kits. Thistle and Haze opened their eyes and blinked in their new surroundings. Skypool let out a soft purr and licked them between the ears. "Good morning little ones."

They both looked up at the now gentle she-cat who had fought for their right to join the clan the night before.

"Are we allowed to stay in Forestclan?" Thistle's mew cracked because of the smoke he had breathed in.

"Yes." Skypool purred. "Blazingstar will hold a clan meeting to make it official. Now, stay in here sweeties. I'm going to see Peppernose and have him check on you."

The two kits looked at each other and slowly stood, stretching. Movement on the far side of the den caught their eyes and they watched as three kits slowly crept around the other sleeping queen.

"Hello." The flame colored kit mewed to the newcomers. "My name is Jaggedkit. What's your names?"

"Thistle."

"...Haze."

"I told you their names wouldn't be Brownie and Fluffy." Brackenkit mewed to Maggotkit. " I'm Brackenkit."

"Are you littermates?" Maggotkit asked.

"No." Thistle mewed. "Are you guys?"

"Yeah. We have a sister too." Bracken looked back towards Maplefur.

"Where is she?"

"She's got to sneak away from Maplefur. It takes her longer because Maplefur sleeps with her paws around her." Jaggedkit informed his new denmates. "Are you staying with us?"

"I hope so!" Thistle exclaimed.

Preciouskit crept over, her fur sticking out all over.

"She should be called Fluffykit." Thistle remarked to Haze who twitched his whiskers as he thought of his sisters...

Preciouskit let out a hiss and slapped Thistle across the nose. "My name is Preciouskit!"

"Fits you." He mewed sarcastically as he rubbed his nose. "So what's your name?" He looked at the gray kit.

"Oh. My name is Maggotkit."

Thistle and Haze looked at each other...confused.

"Really?" Haze mewed.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well..." Thistle began "Don't you know what a maggot is?"

"Yeah. My dad says it's a bug." The grey kit replied.

"W-w-w-w-e-e-e-l-l-l-l-l-l-l..." Haze drew out the word.

"It's more like a worm or gross grub." Thistle mowed flatly. "Like a nasty white worm with no eyes that eats and lives in dead things. OH!" He added "And they smell really bad!"  
Maggotkit's eyes widened in horror.

"I think they turn into flies." Haze added.

"Gross!" Preciouskit stuck out her tongue.

Maggotkit looked down, clearly shocked and thinking.

"So who's your dad?" Thistle asked light hreadly.

"Mintyheart." Jaggedkit relied, sitting a bit taller.

"Really!?" Asked Haze, in awe and slightly jealous.

"Yeah." Brackenkit licked his paw and twitched his whiskers.

"He's the bravest warrior in the whole clan." Preciouskit bragged.

"I know!" Thistle stood excitedly. "He helped save us. He was the one who saved Haze!"

Haze nodded and then shuddered as he remembered the fire, his dead sisters, his mother, the warrior...

A shriek of a yowl pierced the air as Maplefur looked around for her kits. When she saw them she hissed and padded over.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She hissed.

"Meeting the new kits." Jaggedkit looked up at the fuming she-cat.

"They are not clan cats and I will not have you playing with them!" She growled at the new kits as she picked up and spitting and squirming Preciouskit.

"I want to play! Why won't you let me play!? kkokehfonffff! STOP!"

"She's really protective over her..." Brackenkit explained.

"Toms! Get over here! I don't want you over there!" She hissed over her shoulder.

"Humm...that's new..." Jaggedkit mewed questionly.

"We better go." Brackenkit mewed to his brothers.

"We'll sneak over again soon. And don't worry, Skypool is REALLY nice!" Jaggedkit lead his brother's towards their nests.

Skypool peaked her head in the den. "Come on you two!" She called.

Haze and Thistle jumped out into the clearing. It was huge, to them, and all the cats walking around was overwhelming, yet exciting at the same time. The two toms looked completely different than they did last night, yes they were still very small and thinner than clan kits their age, but they had sleek well groomed pelts, compliments of Skypool, and no longer smelled so strongly of ash. Skypool lead them through the clan, head high, to Blazingstar who looked down on the tiny kits warmly. She whispered something in his ear and he nodded.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather for a clan meeting."

The cats of Forestclan poured out into the clearing and sat around their leader and the kits.  
"Thistle, from this day forward until you receive your apprentice name, you will be known as Thistlekit. I welcome you as a full member of Forestclan and hope that you will be brought up in the ways of the warrior code."

Thistlekit almost crawled out of his pelt with joy when the leader slightly dipped his head to him. _I've dreamt of this day! _He thought.

Then the black and white leader turned to the gray and white kit at his paws. "Haze, from now on, till you receive your apprentice name, you will be known as Hazekit. I know you have gone through many hardships but I welcome you as a full member of this clan." He dipped his head slightly to Hazekit and added, " I look forward to seeing the warriors you two kits will become."

"Hazekit! Thistlekit!" The clan cheered out, but Blazingstar's eyes fell on a few cats who were not pleased with what he had done.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Mintyheart padded softly into the medicine cat den. The shadows from the dying ferns were long, telling him that the night drew near. He peaked inside but saw no cat.

"Peppernose?" He paused, "Echopaw?" Still he heard nothing. His paws still arched with each step but he quickly made his way to the herb store. He had asked Echopaw earlier what she had given to him and made sure he smelled them before she chewed them up.  
_Dried maple leaves. _He thought, _But I can get those in the woods. _A familiar scent reached his nose. _Ah, there it is. Dock and a honey comb. _He grabbed two leaves and wrapped them around a bit of honey and quickly left camp following the now very familiar path to what was left of Charming's barn. The journey took him more time than normal but he assumed the pain in his paws and his weakened lungs were to blame. As he reached the top of the hill he paused at the sight of the charred wooden frame of the once welcoming barn. The frame loomed out of the ash likea skeleton. _Where is he? _Mintyheart thought as he looked around. _"I will always find you." _Charming's words played in his head as he padded towards the ash pile. There was no sign of the black tom near the smoldering barn, yet heat could still be felt from the embers below. Mintyheart turned and headed towards the little woods that lined the farm. As he reached the trees he recognized Charming's scent and followed the trail, even though the herbs in his mouth made him lose it several times. But after some time he came to a large tree and in its roots, Charming had curled up and made a nest. The black tom was fast asleep and Mintyheart easily crept next to him without him waking up. Setting down the herbs he looked at the sleek black tom...but now he wasn't as sleek. His coat was singedin places and other placed looked raw where the fire had licked his skin. _I'm sure I don't look much better. _Mintyheart though _Given the fuss Blazingstar is making about me seeing Peppernose regularly._

Mintyheart bent down, Charming smelled of burnt fur and ash, but under all of that was his normal scent, the sweet smell of fresh grass and dried hay. Mintyheart breathed deeply and lightly licked Charming between the ears. Charming's golden eyes flew open in alarm but once they fell on the silver warrior softened at once.

"What are you doing here?" Charming's mew was still hoarse from the smoke and worse, Mintyheart assumed because he didn't have a medicine cat to treat him.

"I wanted to see you." Mintyheart mewed.

"How are Haze and Thistle?" Worry flashed in his eyes for the little toms.

"You mean, Thistlekit and Hazekit?" Mintyheart purred.

"So they were accepted?!" Charming's eyes glowed with pride.

"They were. It was Blazingstar's choice. A few of the warriors aren't pleased with it but they'll get over it."

"You shouldn't have come here." Charming's meow was semi-scolding. "You still sound and look awful."

"Not as awful as you." Mintyheart teased. "Besides, I've got a medicine cat and a half to look after me. You've only got a battle trained warrior who doesn't know death berries from catmint."

"Sounds like I've got good odds then." Coughs deeply. "So what did you bring?"

"Well," Mintyheart turned and grabbed the honey comb. "Eat this...but eat it slowly. I guess it will soothe your throat."

"What is it?"

"Honey. It works great. And out of all the gross herbs Peppernose has given me, tastes the best."

Charming obediently begins to suck on the honey and looks more content as it coats his throat. Mintyheart grabs a nearby dried maple leave and starts to chew it up and mix it with chewed dock leaves. After he gets a nice mixture, he sits back, "That looks pretty close to what Echopaw was rubbing on me earlier."

"I'm glad I don't have to eat that. It smells awful."

"It tastes awful." Mintyheart purred. Grabbing some he placed in on Charming's burns. At first Charming winced at Mintyheart's touch, but as the juices reached and relieved the burns the pain also subsided.

"Thank you." Charming whispered when Mintyheart finished.

"You're welcome. That's what clanmates do."

"I'm your clanmate?" Charming asked, shocked.

"...Yes." Mintyheart touched noses with Charming. "You are more than that."

As Mintyheart stood his tone changed into more of a commanding one, "Now stay here and rest."

"Are you leaving already?" Charming looked at the ground. He hated it when Mintyheart left.

"Not yet. I want to hunt."

"I can go with you..."

"No. Stay here and rest."

Knowing that arguing would be a waste of time Charming closed his eyes; and when he opened them again Mintyheart had returned with two mice and a vole.

"Wow. That was fast." Charming exclaimed.

"Nah. You were sleeping." Mintyheart deflected the praise.

"But you've caught three pieces of prey...and you're still wounded." Charming would not allow the deed to unrewarded.

"A rabbit would be impressive. I'd have to run after that. But all mice take is stealth...plus the mice here are less used to being hunted. They are more careless."

"Your level of stealth is impressive." Charming purred deeply.

Mintyheart dropped his gaze, embarrassed by Charming's flattery.

"You will eat with me?" Charming questioned.

"I will. And then...sadly...I have to go. I can make an excuse that I needed air, but being out all night will be hard to cover for...even for Spiceheart."

The two toms shared a mouse and as the sun fell behind the trees, Minyheart bid Charming farewell and headed back to his own nest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Seven sunrises had passed since Thistlekit and Hazekit were introduced to the clan. That night the first snow of leafbare had fallen, a light dusting about two paws deep. Mintyheart had woke up early and padded across the clearing to where Spiceheart sat, still guarding the camp.

"Good morning, snowball." He flicked the snow off her whiskers.

She purred and batted his ears. "What are you doing up already?"

"Can't sleep. Want to share a vole?"

"They are frozen," She warned as Mintyheart padded to the pile.

"I'll warm them up." Mintyheart tucked a good sized vole under his belly and sat down, pulling his paws close to keep them warm. "Ah! That's cold!"

"Haha. You furball! That won't work!" Spiceheart snorted.

"Will too!" They both laughed at their kit-like bickering.

They continued to talk as the snow lightly drifted down and a bit later movement caught their eye. Skypool had padded from the nursery and was now standing next to the freshkill pile...which wasn't very fresh...or warm.

"Hey Skypool." Mintyheart called. "Looking for something?"

"Yes...but it's all snowy." She glared at the pile.

"Here." Mintyheart stood and padded over, the vole in his mouth.

Skypool gave him a puzzled look. "...it's semi warm..."

"Yeah!" Mintyheart shot Spiceheart a look. "Just lay on it a bit longer and it will be perfect."  
Skypool purred at the younger cat's creative idea. "Very good. Can you keep it a bit longer, I've got to make dirt and I'll be back for it."

Mintyheart nodded and Skypool padded off.

"She's happier..." Mintyheart looked after the ginger and white warrior.

"Maybe it's because of Thistlekit and Hazekit." Spiceheart suggested.

"Yes...but she's...well she looks bigger."

"Don't let her hear that." Spiceheart purred. "She'll claw your ears off. But I've noticed she's been eating more prey...less sharing with cats and more her having her own pie-..." Spiceheart trailed off, "You don't think..."

"I do." Mintyheart twitched his whiskers.

"With Winterstorm!?" Spiceheart exclaimed in a hushed meow.

"Who else would it be!?"

"You're worse than an elder" Spiceheart purred at her gossip buddy.

"Oh you know you were thinking it too!" Mintyheart passed off half the blame. "I'm going to ask her..."

"Mintyheart! You can't just...uuugh!"

"I'll flick my tail if I'm right." He called over his shoulder. Mintyheart wasn't half way across the clearing when Skypool emerged and he padded right up to her.

"Skypool. I've got a question for you."

"Is it about the kits?"

"Umm...kind of..."

"Your kits are so sweet to Thistlekit and Hazekit. They are trying to make them feel welcome..."

"Thank you." Mintyheart interrupted. "I was wondering if you thought there should be an expansion made to the nursery?" His blue eyes glittered like sapphires with the real question.

Skypool looked surprised for a moment but then slowly dipped her nose to her chest, "It might not be a bad idea." She purred as her eyes shifted mischievously.

Mintyheart flicked his tail and he softly mewed, "Congratulations, Skypool."

Mintyheart paused outside the nursery for a moment before ducking his head and following Skypool inside the warm, milk scented den. Skypool was nibbling the now quiet warm vole, while Maplefur was fast asleep, holding down a sleeping but scowling Preciouskit. Mintyheart purred as he looked down on his four sleeping kits. A sound of a scared whimper and the smell of fear scent made both Mintyheart and Skypool quickly look up and rush towards the source of the problem. Within seconds they were at Hazekit's side. Hazekit's eyes were closed tight and his face was contorted in pain or fear. His breathing was fast and his little paws were tucked in close to his body. Skypool instinctively bent down and licked Hazekit's cheek, gently waking him. Hazekit's eyes flew open, full of panic as he looked around and Mintyheart knew exactly what the little kit had dreamt of...the fire.

"It's okay, Hazekit." Mintyheart's mew was soothing and Hazekit's eyes were drawn to the silver dappled tom. "You're safe now. You're in the nursery in Forestclan...with Thistle..Kit." Mintyheart quickly corrected himself for calling Thistlekit by his old name.

"Nothing will hurt you here." Skypool looked at the little gray and white tom. Hazekit's eyes dropped. The memories and pain were so fresh...still vivid and real. He could hear his mother's orders for him and his sisters to lay down as she climbed on top of them and used her own body to protect her kits from the flames. He could hear his sister's cries as they begin to overheat as the fire approached and he remembered the pain of the flames and they burned into him. He remembered asking his littermates if they were okay and hearing nothing. He could smell the death on their pelts and the fear scent from his mother as she bravely protected him at the cost of her life. He could remember everything...

Skypool looked worriedly at Mintyheart as the little kit trembled before them.

"I'll tell you what happened later.." Mintyheart whispered as he touched Hazekit's flank with his tail. "I'm so sorry Hazekit." Mintyheart's voice trembled because of the young cats suffering.

Thistlekit stirred and sat up. "Hazekit! Are you okay? Did you go by Maplefur? She warned you she'd claw your ears off if you came over there!"

"He had a nightmare." Skypool turned to the brown tom.

"About the fire?" Thistlekit asked. Hazekit nodded.

"Well you've got to stop thinking about it. There is nothing we can do. Besides, we're Forestclan cats now! And we are going to be WARRIORS!" Thistlekit jumped up and stretched out his claws.

Hazekit stood and shook his head but he knew that the memories wouldn't disappear. Mintyheart felt a weight ram his flank and saw that Jaggedkit had attacked him and was now batting at his side. Mintyheart purred and easy flipped the flame and black colored tom onto his back.

"Whoa!" Jaggedkit exclaimed. "That was cool let me try! Maggotkit!"

Maggotkit and Brackenkit padded over. Maggotkit looked at his father's paws while Brackenkit nodded to the silver warrior. There was a moment's pause but then Preciouskit emerged, her black and white hair clumped from sleep.

"Good thing there are no younger kits in here." Thistlekit mewed as Preciouskit arrived. "Or they'd run yowling after one sight of you!" Thistlekit teased.

"I'm sorry..."Preciouskit mocked "But I'm a warrior in training, not a kittypet."

"Enough." Mintyheart interrupted is fiery daughter. "There is something I want to show you...all of you." He glanced at the two former barn cats.

"What is it!?" Jaggedkit asked, his eyes glittering with excitement.

"It's something you've never seen before..." Mintyheart mewed mysteriously.

"I bet I've seen it before!" Thistlekit mewed as he puffed out his chest.

"Yeah, right." Preciouskit scuffed.

"Come on. Follow me..." Mintyheart headed out of the nursrey.

"We're going outside...what about Maplefur...?" Brackenkit looked back at his sleeping mother.

"Don't you dare wake her!" Preciouskit gowled in Brackenkit's ear. "If I'm dragged back in here because of you, I swear to Starclan you will feel my claws on your pelt all night!"

Mintyheart watched as each of the kits hopped out of their den and into the newly fallen snow. Thistlekit was first and as soon as his paws hit the snow, jumped up exclaiming how the white stuff was cold. Hazekit was next, but was silent as he slowly padded forward into the clearing. Jaggedkit was close behind. He paused for a moment and took in every inch of the clearing, committing the new world to memory and noticing every change in his new surroundings. Brackenkit jumped out next with a wild look on his face, as if the world he knew had been interrupted and now he had to understand the ins and outs of this one. Preciouskit followed her brother and as soon as she was out of the den began wandering around, taking full advantage of the moments she had away from Maplefur's clutches. Last was Maggotkit, who looked a bit timid of the new ground covering and picked up his paws quickly. Mintyheart couldn't help but think that he had been acting much more jumpy the last few sunrises. Clearing his mind, Mintyheart rolled a bit of snow into a ball and flicked it at the six kits. Thistlekit and Brackenkit chased after the ball as Mintyheart made another and flicked it to Preciouskit and Jaggedkit, who began a game of toss. Maggotkit sat and watched his denmates while Hazekit, after watching Mintyheart, made his own ball and batted in back and forth between his paws.

"Good job!" Mintyheart exclaimed once he saw the ball. Hazekit twitched his whiskers and continued to roll the ball. Preciouskit and Jaggedkit's game had gotten to rough and they had smashed their ball and were now chasing after Thistlekit and Brackenkit, trying to steal theirs.

"What is this stuff?" Hazekit asked suddenly.

"Snow." Mintyeart replied.

"Hummm...but WHAT is it?" Hazekit pushed.

"It's frozen rain." Skypool's warm mew filled the air. "It's fun to run in and leave paw prints."  
Hazekit looked out to where is denmates were. Sure enough, there were paw prints all over. Standing he strolled over and joined in on the game. As the kits pelted around they would lose their grip and go tumbling into the white powder. Shaking it from their pelts, they would be off again, endless in their energy.

Over in ShadeClan, the excitement level was at a high. ShadeClan was strong, very strong. They had more warriors than any other clan; a new, strong, young leader; four apprentices; and three queens. One of the queens had just given birth. Nightwhisper was the last she-cat anyone would consider having kits; yet, she was now the mother of Fogstar's kits. The two kits would be nursed by Cherrytail, another queen who was due in another moon. Nightwhisper was too valuable of a warrior to be excused from her duties. She was just as fierce and brutal as her mate, if not more.

Her first born was a small, black she-cat, sleek like herself, the other one was a pale gray tom, resembling Fogstar himself. They named the black she-cat Darkkit and the pale gray tom Ghostkit.


	17. Chapter 17

TWO MOON TIME SKIP

Two moons later leaf-bare had sunk its claws in the clan's territory. The snow was permanent and the cold was formidable. Icicles hung from the branches of trees and glittered and sparkled in the sun. Despite these harsh conditions, ForestClan was doing well. For the past few days, the clan had experienced a short break with a light thaw, which allowed the kits to play outside. Hazekit was now five moons old, and Mintyheart and Maplefur's kits were three moons old. Right now, Hazekit, Jaggedkit, and Brackenkit were playing outside in the snow of the clearing. The rest of the kits were confined to the nursery. There was no way Maplefur would let Preciouskit endure the soft, winter sunshine or the nip in the air. Maggotkit has a slight cold and needed to rest. At the moment, Thistlekit was pacing the mossy floor of the nursery while being watched by a drowsy Skypool.

"It's not fair!" protested Preciouskit, for the umpteenth time from her mother's clutches.

"Shush. If you go outside, you'll catch a cold!"

"But Skypool said it was warmer today. And besides , the only way I'll catch a cold is if I stay here with Maggotkit!"

"Hmm," considered Maplefur. "That's true." Preciouskit's ears perked up. "I'll go tell Peppernose to fetch Maggotkit and keep him in his den. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner!"

"Maplefur, if you want Maggotkit to stay there, can't you at least bring him yourself?" mewed an exasperated Skypool.

"And get contaminated?! I think not!"

"But, mama, I wanna stay here!" whimpered Maggotkit. "I don't wanna be with Peppernose!"

"Shush! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me mama!" Maggotkit's jaw wobbled as some snot dripped out. "Ugh!" And Maplefur padded out. Skypool gave Maggotkit a sad, sympathetic look.

Thistlekit stopped his pacing and gave Maggotkit a disgusted look. "Hey, Maggot. You got something on your nose."

"My name's MaggotKIT!" and Maggotkit lifted his paw to touch his nose, and as soon as he made contact, his paw became wet with his own snot. Maggotkit cried out as Thistlekit sniggered.

"Oh, Maggotkit!" said Skypool as Preciouskit let out a yowl and sprang at Thistlekit. Skypool pulled herself out of her nest, her big belly wobbling. She padded over to a mewling Maggotkit and began to clean him up. Thistlekit, surprised by Preciouskit's anger, was bowled over by the feisty she-cat. She sunk her claws into his light brown fur and he let out a yowl. With his superior size, however, he rolled over and squashed Preciouskit by laying on her. She sunk her claws in even deeper and he yowled again.

"Geoff! You're squishing me!" she growled. Thistlekit sat up and she let go with her pelt sticking up all over.

"Preciouskit!" Maplefur had returned, but not in time to see the skirmish. "What happened to your hair? Did you sneeze again?" Not waiting for an answer, she snatched her kit off the ground and carried her to their nest for a re-grooming. "Oh, Maggotkit. Peppernose says he doesn't have time to come and get you, so you'll have to walk their yourself." Maggotkit whimpered.

"I'll take Maggotkit to Peppernose," announced Skypool. "The little one should really get his cold fixed."

"I wouldn't, if I were you, Skypool. Not in your condition. You're probably due in a half a moon, aren't you?"

"That doesn't mean I cannot do anything," reasoned Skypool.

"All I know for certain is that if I rested more, I am sure I would have had more she-cats," stated Maplefur in a knowing voice.

"I am okay with having toms…" trailed off Skypool as Maplefur gave her a filthy look. Just then Echopaw came into the nursery.

"I'm sorry! Peppernose is so unreasonable!" she gasped. "I barely esca—I mean got out. I can take Maggotkit and check him out. Is that okay?" she glanced at the two she-cats.

Skypool smiled at her daughter. "Of course."

"Just as long as he leaves," growled Maplefur, "and drools somewhere else."

"I don't wanna go…" whimpered Maggotkit.

Echopaw shot Maplefur a disapproving look before saying to Maggokit: "It'll be okay, Maggotkit. I'm sure I can find something that will make you feel better!" And she bent down and grabbed him by the scruff and to carry him out of the nursery and into the medicine cat's den.

"I'm so proud of you!" called Skypool. Echopaw flicked her tail to show that she heard.

Echopaw carried Maggotkit to the medicine cat's den, and was surprised to see Palepaw looking at the ground with Mintyheart at his side talking to Peppernose. Well, she wasn't surprised that he was looking at the ground, but that he was here. Peppernose saw her come in and narrowed his eyes. "I told you, I don't want that kit in here!" spat Peppernose.

"But Peppernose! Look! He's sick!" protested Echopaw. "I can take care of him – I will!"

Peppernose padded over and gave the kit a sniff. "He'll be better in a sunrise or two. The sickness has left him, and all that remains is the need to get it completely out of his system."

"Well, can't he stay until he's recovered?"

"What's the point? He'll be better in a few sunrises regardless if he stays here or in the nursery."

"But," meowed Echopaw. "Maplefur wanted him here—"

"Do you think I give a rat's tail about what Maplefur wants?"

"No! I think she could be dead and crawling with maggots and you wouldn't care!" retorted Echopaw, and Peppernose was about to snap back but for Maggotkit's wail.

"Maggotkit!' exclaimed Mintyheart.

"Oh!" started Echopaw. Then softer: "I'm sorry!"

"Now look what you did!" sneered Peppernose.

"I didn't mean to upset him!"

"I meant about the crying!"

"Would you two cut it out?!" interjected Mintyheart, who was bending over Maggotkit and licking him. "My son and my apprentice are both sick, and you two are the medicine cats. Honestly! How come all you do is argue?" Peppernose and Echopaw glared at him.

"Maggotkit will be your responsibility," delegated Peppernose.

"Great!" said Echopaw enthusiastically.

"Wait a second…" mewed Mintyheart.

"Don't you trust Echopaw?" countered Peppernose.

"Well… yeah, but she's still training."

"She knows enough to watch over a practically healed kit. He'll be fine in a sunrise or two; he just needs to rest, that's all," said Peppernose. Mintyheart nodded, vowing to check up on Maggotkit as much as possible. Echopaw picked up a crying and thoroughly worn out Maggotkit, and took him farther into the den and out of sight.

"Now, you said Palepaw has been coughing?" asked Peppernose, resuming the conversation that had been taking place before Echopaw had brought Maggotkit back.

"Yes, and he hasn't been able to keep up as well for the past day or two. And he's been sniffling a bit," answered Mintyheart, standing next to Palepaw.

"More than usual?"

"Yes," Mintyheart replied curtly. Peppernose took a step towards Palepaw, who flinched.

"I'm not going to hurt you," mewed Peppernose softly. Peppernose lifted his black tail to Palepaw's flank. "Breathe," he ordered Palepaw, who complied. After the first breath, Peppernose lowered his head to Palepaw's side and rested his ear accordingly. "Again," and Palepaw sucked in another deep breath. And another. And another before Peppernose surfaced.

"Palepaw has fluid stuck in his lungs," stated Peppernose simply.

"What does that mean?" asked Mintyheart; Palepaw started gurgling.

"It means that his lungs are infected."

"So, he's—"

"Sick, yes."

"Do I got g-g-greencough?" asked Palepaw timdly before having a cough spasm.

"No, greencough looks different. That's more of a dry cough. Yours is wetter," explained Peppernose.

"But you can heal him, right?" asked Mintyheart anxiously. He was suddenly stricken with worry. One of his kits was sick, and now his apprentice had some rare illness.

"I don't know. I have only seen it once before. Yellowstripe had it," meowed Peppernose.

"Yellowstripe? But she…" Mintyheart trailed off. He was about to say 'died', and of the sickness too, but he realized that Palepaw was already having a panic attack and didn't need to hear that. "Alright. What do we do?"

"Am I going to die?" whimpered Palepaw.

"_We_ don't do anything," mewed Peppernose, ignoring Palepaw. "_You _go back to your warrior duties. The best way you can help Palepaw is to make sure that he has enough food to keep him strong." Mintyheart nodded. "As for Palepaw, he can stay in my den…" Peppernose glanced over to the tunnel leading into the sick beds before exclaiming: "And this is exactly why I didn't want that kit in here! He's fine in the nursery! He can't stay here now that Palepaw's here. Otherwise, he'll get sick too! Oh, I'll rip her fur out for this!" And he marched into the den.

Mintyheart didn't know quite what to say to that. He knew that the medicine cat had a shaky relationship with his apprentice, but there was no way that he was getting in the way of them. Then again, he didn't want Maggotkit staying here then. Mintyheart and Palepaw heard hisses and growls from up ahead, and Mintyheart was surprised when Peppernose came back alone.

"I'm going to tell Blazingstar that we need to make the hollow log at the edge of our camp available for me to put all of the sick cats in. Or, just Palepaw for now," said Peppernose.

"Ah, okay. And Maggotkit?"

"Staying here," muttered Peppernose. Mintyheart's whiskers twitched. _How on earth did Echopaw convince him that Maggotkit should stay?_

"Good," said Mintyheart.

"C'mon; we'll put Palepaw in there now." And Peppernose led the way out of the medicine cat's clearing, Mintyheart and Palepaw following in his wake. When they emerged, Mintyheart led a scared-to-death Palepaw to the hollow log while Peppernose looked around the clearing for Blazingstar. He saw that Icecloud's hunting patrol had returned with Sunstone, Shimmerpaw, and Winterstorm, the latter taking an impressive sized squirrel to the nursery. Peppernose then spotted Blazingstar hearing Icecloud's report. He began padding over to them but ran into a smirking Sunstone on the way.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked civilly.

"Blazingstar is going to make Thistlekit an apprentice," she announced.

"Hump. So?"

"So! He's gonna make me the kit's mentor!"

"Hm. I thought you didn't like Thistlekit?" inquired Peppernose.

"Well, I don't. He's a tom and he's from that two-legged barn. But Blazingstar better give me Thistlekit after you stole Echopaw!" he exclaimed.

Peppernose let the comment about Echopaw slide but with a flick of his tail. For all the abuse he gave Echopaw, he did not like it when other cats made remarks about her. Instead, he said, "Wait, you don't know for sure if he's going to make you his mentor?"

"Well, he didn't tell me yet, but who else would he choose?" she asked, intending it to be rhetoric.

"Um, let me see… Spiceheart to make up for Foxpaw? Or Adderfang? He has never had an apprentice yet. Icecloud or Winterstorm—"

"Winterstorm already has an apprentice!"

"—Bluefrost, or even himself! Um, Palepaw-?"

"Palepaw is still an apprentice, you stupid tom!"

"And yet, I bet he would make a better mentor than you!" Peppernose retorted.

Sunstone gasped. "You take that back! I am the best warrior in the clan!"

"You're crazier than a fox strutting about in the moonlight!"

"I could have made Echopaw great, you know, but then you had to go and steal her!"

"I didn't steal her!" spat Peppernose. "How many times do I need to tell you: She left of her own accord to become a medicine cat!"

"Not true! Not true!" denied Sunstone. "Stupid tom!"

"At least I'm not insane and delusional, with no hope of ever becoming deputy, much less leader! You're the last cat Blazingstar would choose to make Thistlekit his mentor!" That last comment was the last straw for Sunstone. She didn't like being insulted or underestimated, especially by a tom who was just a medicine cat. Oblivious to the fact that every cat in the clearing had stopped whatever they were doing and watching the two cats quarrel, she flung herself at Peppernose, claws unsheathed. Unfortunately, Peppernose had anticipated the attack when he saw the she-cat gather her muscles in the crouch before the leap. By the time she was launched in the air, he had already pivoted his body accordingly. When she was in range, he swung his body back, obtaining greater momentum and force, latching on her left shoulder with his right paw, claws sinking in and swiftly knocking her aside, sending her sprawling in the snow.

"Stop it!" growled a voice suddenly. Peppernose looked up to see a furious Blazingstar.

"What?" snarled Peppernose.

"Here in ForestClan, we do not fight to settle our differences! You are always so mean and belittling to your clanmates and there is absolutely no reason for it! I don't know what to do with you anymore! You're not a kit; you should—"

"Blazingstar, I'm really sorry!" interjected Echopaw, who had watched the last half of the fight. Blazingstar stopped telling Peppernose off and looked at Echopaw. "I-I didn't mean any offense by interrupting." Blazingstar flicked his tail, signaling that she could speak, even though he looked like he had a lot more to say. "It's just… I would like you to please excuse Peppernose's words and actions. And tone," she added.

"… why?" the leader said slowly.

"Well, you see," Echopaw's voice shook. She cleared her throat before continuing. "Peppernose has been under a lot of stress recently. He's been working real hard to keep all of the kits healthy and Skypool, who is due soon. And he's been training me too, which makes everything harder and longer to do. And he hasn't been getting a lot of sleep. I go to bed before he does, and when I awake, he's already working or out collecting herbs. And I've noticed that he doesn't eat his fair share! And on top of all of that, lately he's been complaining that his stomach hurts. Just... do you, do you think you could ease up on him this one time?"

Blazingstar sighed. His anger was already fading. He looked over at Sunstone, who had already stood up and looked fine, just a little frazzled. He figured that it was Sunstone who attacked Peppernose first, but the latter egged her on. And Peppernose could have dodged the attack or used sheathed claws, but he didn't. Sunstone's pale pelt showed a small bit of blood on her shoulder. "Fine. I'll let Peppernose _and _Sunstone off, just this once. But don't you dare attack or shed the blood of a clanmate again, unless it's for practice. I don't want to see any cat fighting. What ForestClan lacks in numbers, we make up in our loyalty and bondage of our kindred spirit. It is what makes us strong. We cannot risk fighting among ourselves. Understand?" Peppernose looked at the ground, but nodded.

There was a moment's pause where everyone was standing around, unsure of how to carry out. Blazingstar was about to turn away, but then Peppernose stopped him.

"Blazingstar, what I wanted to tell you is that Palepaw is sick," Peppernose said.

"Is it bad?" the leader asked.

"Yes, his lungs are infected and full of fluid. I want to put all of the sick cats in the fallen log," mewed Peppernose as he flicked his tail to the log where Mintyheart and Palepaw were standing. Blazingstar nodded. "It is not fit to live in, so I think some cats should make it habitable."

"I think that sounds like a good idea. Bluefrost, will you organize that?" asked Blazingstar to his deputy, who nodded. "Is that alright?" Peppernose nodded, and without a further word, padded back to his den with Echopaw in toe.

"Oh, and Blazingstar, I would like to lead a patrol," issued Blazingstar.

"Oh, okay, um. I guess you can take Mintyheart and –"

"I'd like to just go with Spiceheart, if that's alright," he tilted his head.

"Sure, if that's what you want."

"It is," mewed Blazingstar and he went over to the warrior's den, where he knew Spiceheart was catching up on sleep. And sure enough, he found her small, dappled frame, rising and falling as she drew in her breath. He hesitated for a moment, before taking in a deep breath, and softly padded over to her. He bent down and gave her a gentle nudge to her flank. She slowly opened her eyes and took a moment to gain their focus. She gazed up at Blazingstar, blinked again, and stood up with a start.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Blazingstar! Did I over sleep?!" she exclaimed.

"No, no. You're fine," he reassured her.

"What time is it?"

"Just past sunhigh," he answered.

"Then I did oversleep!"

"No, you didn't. You're fine," he repeated.

"I was planning on going on the sunhigh patrol!"

"Yes," he said patiently. "With me. Right now."

"Oh," she paused. "Okay."

"Then let's go!" and Blazingstar led the way out of the den with Spiceheart close behind.

From the nursery, the cats had heard Sunstone's and Peppernose's argument but had stayed in. Only Winterstorm had bothered to peek out and see what was going on. After it was over, Winterstorm retired to spend time with Skypool.

"So, you're feeling okay?" he asked her.

"I'm fine, Winterstorm, honestly," reassured Skypool. Winterstorm began licking between her ears.

"Oh, I would be worried," interjected Maplefur. "She's been too active lately. I was too active and I only had one she-cat! I know from personal experience!"

"Maplefur, last time I was expecting I didn't know I was until much later than this time. I still carried out my warrior duties until it really showed. And I had two she-cats!" protested Skypool, even though she was well aware of how flawed the logic was; yet, for some reason it made sense to Maplefur. And after spending a moon in the nursery with Maplefur, Skypool had learned it was best to play by Maplefur's logic than to convince her otherwise.

"Hmm…" hummed Maplefur suspiciously.

"Can I go out now, Skypool?" asked Thistlekit.

"No, not yet," she said.

"Uggh!" Thistlekit ran in a circle, clearly impatient. "Why no-ot?"

Skypool smiled with endless patience. "Because I want you looking all nice for your apprentice ceremony. Blazingstar told you it was happening today. Don't you remember?" Thistlekit nodded. "I gave you a bath a while ago, and if you go out and play, you'll get all wet and dirty." Thistlekit just kept on pacing the floor.

"Just think, you'll be sleeping in the apprentice's den tonight," encouraged Skypool fondly. Thistlekit brightened at the thought, and was able to sit down for a moment before resuming pacing.

Over in the medicine cat's den, as soon as both cats were far enough in that they would not be overheard, Peppernose spun around and let out a hiss.

"What in the name of StarClan was that? Lying to your leader! I don't have stomach pains!" spat Peppernose at Echopaw, right in her face.

"I was getting you out of trouble!" she spat back with equal fury.

"I didn't need any help, and I certainly didn't ask for any!"

"Why can't you just say thank-you?!"

"I see no reason too! I can handle Blazingstar on my own, _thanks_!"

"Didn't you hear what Blazingstar said about bonds and how we're all kin? I helped you out because we're clanmates! And you're my mentor!"

"I don't give a rat's tail about the _bond_ we have as mentor and apprentice. The only reason I'm training you is that someone has to do it after I'm gone!"

"Is that really all I am to you? Even after I've been training for three moons?" asked Echopaw. "Can't we be friends?"

"Friends?" There was a slight pause, before Peppernose continued: "I don't have friends."

"What about Bluefrost?"

"He's my brother; he doesn't count. Besides, we've grown apart ever since I became a medicine cat."

"Well, I can be your friend," suggested Echopaw.

"I consider friendship just to be useless baggage," confessed Peppernose. Echopaw was about to respond, but was interrupted by a cry of Maggotkit from the other den. She closed her mouth, ducked her head, and padded towards the kit. She wasn't done with Peppernose yet. _He's so stubborn! But I know there's more to him, if I can just get around the walls he's put up!_

"Who else is joining us?" asked Spiceheart.

"No one; it's just the two of us," answered Blazingstar. Spiceheart nodded. Ever since Foxpaw's death, Spiceheart felt awkward around Blazingstar. Deep down, she knew it wasn't his fault completely; and she had acted and spoke rashly. Perhaps he was partially responsible. She didn't know. Her heart was so conflicted. All she did know for certain was that part of being a warrior meant enduring hardships no matter what happened, and that Foxpaw would always remain in her heart.

"Spiceheart," Blazingstar mewed softly, interrupting her thoughts. "Race you to the Tall Pine?" Spiceheart looked up at his face, and saw that he harbored a playful expression. Her tail curled in delight. She loved games. She didn't answer; instead, she took off running, gaining a head start.

"Hey! No fair!" and Blazingstar tore after her. Despite the tall snow, Blazingstar caught up with Spiceheart fairly easily, due to the fact that his legs were longer than hers. Unfortunately, his weight and size were also a disadvantage. Spiceheart was slower, but much more nimble. When Blazingstar had just caught up to her Spiceheart made a sharp turn that sent him skidding into a bank face first.

"Blazingstar!" called Spiceheart, and she slowed down. She quickly back-tracked and saw a giant hole in a ditch. "Blazingstar?" All of a sudden, the snow bank started to move and a giant shape emerged and tackled Spiceheart. "Ahhh! Blazingstar! Help!" Then she saw eyes… Blazingstar's eyes. _Ohh…_ Struck by a sudden burst of playfulness, she gently batted his stomach with sheathed claws. _This is just like old times…_

"_You guys! Slow down! That's not fair!" yowled Spicepaw, a few tail lengths behind Mintyheart and Blazingheart who were trudging ahead in the snow._

"_Aw, can't you keep up, Spicepaw?!" meowed Blazingheart._

"_Sunstone won't be pleased to know that her apprentice can't keep up with a pair of toms!" joked Mintyheart. _

"_It's not my fault I'm half your size!" retorted Spicepaw. _

"_You know," began Blazingheart, an amused gleam in his eye. "I have always wondered: how come Juniperpaw is so much larger than you, even though you're sisters?"_

_Spicepaw let out a yowl and leaped at Blazingheart, claws sheathed, of course. Blazingheart took the blow, and rolled on the ground, lessening the impact, not that there was much; she literally was half his size. The two were interlocked, tumbling on the ground as Mintyheart was chortling in the background. They plummeted into a ditch and into a snow bank, and disappeared from sight. Spicepaw popped up first, covered in snow._

"_Blazingheart? Mintyheart do you see him?" asked Spicepaw, now worried that their play had gotten serious._

"_No, I don't," replied Mintyheart from on top of the bank. _

_Spicepaw began sifting through the snow, now getting concerned. Suddenly, the snow pile began moving. Spicepaw let out a screech of terror as the snow monster lunged at her and flattened her. _

"_Did you really not see that coming?" laughed Blazingheart in her ear. _

"_I didn't see you! All I saw was a giant snow pile move!" Spicepaw's voice was muffled as she tried to bat his stomach._

"_I think you're squishing her," remarked Mintyheart sarcastically._

"_I'm not getting off until she gives up."_

"_Never!" yowled Spicepaw, and her attempts to bat his stomach increased. He then lightly bit down on her leg, not enough to draw blood, and gave it a little shake. "I can't breathe!"_

"_Give up!"_

"_No!" But all of her efforts were in vain, as she could barely move, let alone attack him, and breathing was becoming difficult. "Fine! You win!"_

_Blazingheart let up on her and she shakily stood. "Are you okay?" _

"_Fine! No thanks to you!" she spat. _

_Blazingheart didn't know what to say for a moment. Was she really mad at him? But then she smiled, and he knew that everything was fine. _

Blazingstar lunged at her, probably hoping to flatten her again, but Spiceheart was too quick and side-stepped him.

"Haha! That won't work on me twice!" jeered Spiceheart playfully. But she spoke too soon. She started running and Blazingstar gave chase; unfortunately, she hit a patch of ice, slipped, and hit the ground hard. She let out a gasp as the wind was knocked out of her when she landed on the frozen ground. She saw a huge shadow looming over her and prepared herself for Blazingstar flattening her again, closing her eyes. Instead, she felt a cold nose poke at her flank.

"Spiceheart! Are you okay?"

Spiceheart's eyes flew open and she looked up at Blazingstar. "Yeah," she croaked. "Just…" And she tried to stand up but her shoulder gave way. "Ow!"

"Yeah, so you're not okay."

"I'm fine," Spiceheart insisted. She slowly stood on her paws. "I think I just sprained a muscle or something."

"We'll get Peppernose to take a look at it when we get back," meowed Blazingstar. He sat down beside her. "Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Oh, so that's why you wanted to go on patrol with me!"

"No! I mean… ah, um. Well, you –" stammered Blazingstar before Spiceheart waved her tail, signaling that it was of no offense and matter. Blazingstar cleared his throat. _I can't believe I just stammered at her._ "I was wondering…." Spiceheart cocked her head at him. "… if you would be interested in being Thistlekit's mentor?"

There was a moment's pause, then: "Really?!" squealed Spiceheart. "Me?!"

"Do you not—"

"No, I do! I do!" interrupted the she-cat. "But really? Me? I just—really?"

"Really," affirmed Blazingstar, not sure of the cause of her disbelief. "I can't think of anyone else that is more capable than you."

"More capable?"

"Yeah," agreed Blazingstar. "Well… Thistlekit has a lot of enthusiasm and he's very energetic. And I think you can match that. In addition, you were one of the cats that spoke for his permanent residence, so I know you will treat him like any other Clanborn kit. Also, looking at Thistlekit, I can see that he has a big heart, and he just wants to express his joy with the world. I also see that quality in you."

"You really think that?" she asked softly.

"…yes," answered Blazingstar, with an odd feeling in his stomach. Spiceheart had no response to that, but looked at him with an expression of surprise. _Wait… I didn't mean that as a compliment! Mousedung! I just… arghhh!_ The next few moments were spent in an awkward silence. "Are you well enough to go back?"

"What about the rest of the patrol?" asked Spiceheart.

"Nah, you're hurt, and I have an Apprentice ceremony to perform before it gets too dark," answered Blazingstar. Spiceheart nodded and heaved herself to her feet. Her shoulder already felt better. _Probably just landed on it funny_. And the two of them padded back to camp to get ready for the ceremony.

When they got back, Blazingstar led the way to Peppernose's den. There they found an grumpy Peppernose sorting herbs while Echopaw hummed to herself while stroking Maggotkit's flank. Both medicine cats looked up when Blazingstar and Spiceheart entered.

"Oho! Peppernose, Spiceheart has a limp! What do we do for that?" mewed Echopaw.

"I can't do much if I don't know _why_ she's limping," snorted Peppernose.

"Spiceheart! Why are you limping?"

"I slipped on some frozen ground," replied Spiceheart. Peppernose gave a snort.

"Don't laugh," mewed Echopaw to Peppernose. "It happens to everyone. But I don't know what to do for when you fall."

"Well, what did you bang up?"

"I don't know exactly."

"When she tried to stand after the fall, she fell back down again," chimed in Blazingstar. Peppernose padded over and gave her shoulder a good sniff. Then he rubbed his cheek against it, getting a scope of the wounds.

"My guess is that you bruised it, or maybe tore a muscle."

"So what do we do for that?" asked Echopaw.

"Nothing," responded Peppernose.

"Peppernose…" growled Blazingstar.

"I'm serious," Peppernose growled back. "I don't know of any herb that can heal a torn muscle. It will have to heal itself. The only remedy is time. Echopaw, go get some goldenrod," ordered Peppernose. Echopaw dashed off and came back in a heartbeat. "Now, why would I use goldenrod even if there's nothing to heal the muscle?"

"Um…" thought Echopaw aloud. "To ease any pain?"

"To ease _what_ precisely?"

"Any ache or stiffness?"

"Yes. It doesn't remove the pain, exactly. If you want a pain reliever come back and ask for some. This will just ease the stiffness. Got it?" Echopaw nodded. "Okay, now apply it." And Echopaw got to work, chewing up the stem and flower.

"I'm going to get a quick bite to eat, okay?" he told Spiceheart, who nodded. "Oh, and Peppernose. After the ceremony, I want you to give me a fuller account of what happened to Palepaw." Peppernose bowed his head. Blazingstar padded out.


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry that this one is so short! Next chapter will be more suspenseful.

* * *

Blazingstar went over to the fresh kill pile and was happy to see that it was well stocked, considering it was leaf-bare. He picked up two mice and sat next to Winterstorm, who was eating nearby.

"It's good to see that the fresh-kill pile is so well-stocked," commented Winterstorm, repeating Blazingstar's thoughts.

"Yes, it is," agreed Blazingstar.

"Blazingstar, I was thinking that it was getting near the time where Shimmerpaw could have another assessment."

"Oh? Has she improved much?" Blazingstar inquired.

"Yes. She has the makings of a fine warrior."

"I am glad to hear it. Shall we do it tomorrow?"

"That sounds alright," agreed Winterstorm. "I'll tell her tomorrow as well." Blazingstar nodded and finished off the last of his mouse before heading towards the High Rock.

"Everything okay out there?" asked Bluefrost, walking up to Blazingstar.

"Just a few snow monsters, but we took care of them fine," answered Blazingstar. "Excuse me." And he left a thoroughly confused Bluefrost to leap onto the High Rock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around for a clan meeting!" he yowled out to the vicinity. He looked around and saw that Skypool was _leading_ a well-groomed Thistlekit out of the nursery. Hazekit, Jaggedkit, and Brackenkit followed in toe. Mintyheart padded over to his kits and mewed a greeting. Blazingstar presumed that Maplefur stayed in the nursery with Preciouskit. Winterstorm went to go sit next to Skypool. Shimmerpaw and Echopaw sat not far from them, and on the other side of them, Peppernose. Icecloud, Adderfang, and Sunstone all sat on the other side. Palepaw stuck his head out from the log he was residing. Last to come out was Spiceheart from the medicine cat's den. He noticed that her pelt was gleaming and silky. _She probably just groomed it after I left the den, _he thought.

"You look nice, Sunstone," commented Adderfang.

"One should always look nice for apprentice ceremonies, especially when they are becoming your apprentice!"

"Oh, is that what this is for?"

"Don't you see how Skypool has washed up Thistlekit all nice?"

Adderfang looked over. "Ah. Well, congratulations."

"Thank you!"

Blazingstar cleared his throat. "By naming apprentices, we show that ForestClan will remain strong. Thistlekit, step forward." Thistlekit was trembling with excitement from nose to tail. _I hope Mintyheart is my mentor, _he thought. "From this moment on, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice shall be known as Thistlepaw," announced Blazingstar. Thistlepaw dug his claws into the ground, unable to bear the excitement. "Spiceheart, you are now ready to take on an apprentice. You will be mentor to Thistlepaw. Spiceheart, you have shown yourself to be a warrior of endurance and of great heart. I am sure you will pass down these qualities to this apprentice."

"I will," confirmed Spiceheart. And she padded forward, her limp less prominent as she held her head high.

_A she-cat! Hmmm… is she really a warrior? She's barely bigger than me!_ Thistlepaw remarked to himself.

"Then I trust you to make him into a great warrior of ForestClan."

_A great warrior of ForestClan!? _Thistlepaw stood taller. Spiceheart took a step toward him. Having never seen a ceremony before, he didn't know what to do. _Is she going to lick me? Ew._ But of course, she just touched his nose. Thistlepaw blinked. _Is that it?_ Then the whole clan began calling his name:

"Thistlepaw! Thistlepaw!"

_So this is what it feels like to be a part of a clan!_ Thistlepaw squirmed with happiness until he just couldn't hold it in anymore. He jumped as high as he could and landed on the ground with a stumble.

"Whoa there," meowed Spiceheart. Thistlepaw looked up at his mentor. Most of the cats were going into their dens except for Skypool, Mintyheart, Hazekit, Jaggedkit, and Brackenkit.

"Congratulations, Thistlepaw! You have one of the best warriors in ForestClan as your mentor!" purred Mintyheart.

"Really?"

"Of course! Spiceheart is one of my best friends!" answered Mintyheart. _I don't have Mintyheart as my mentor, but I have one of his best friends!_

"I'm just so proud of you!" added Skypool. Thistlepaw beamed at them all. "You'll have to come and visit and show us all what you have learned!"

"I will!" promised Thistlepaw. "I'll teach you all the awesome fighting moves Spiceheart teaches me!" And he did a pretend lash in the air.

"You don't need to teach me anything!" mewed Jaggedkit. "I'll probably know them all already."

"I doubt it!' retorted Thistlekit, his fur fluffing up. _Jaggedkit thinks he's so cool—_

And before any of the adults could break up the argument, Brackenkit said, "Oh, come on, you guys. Be real. None of us know any real moves."

"Mintyheart—" started Jaggedkit.

"—teaches us kit moves," finished Brackenkit.

Jaggedkit frowned. "I can beat him anytime!"

"Maybe," Brackenkit purred, humored. "But he is becoming an apprentice before us, and he'll probably become a warrior before us too." That made Jaggedkit scowl. "But that's life. It's not his or our fault he was born before us."

"Yeah, yeah…"

The grown-ups watched silently, happy that the kits were working out their own problems by themselves.

"Okay," interrupted Mintyheart. "Time for bed." The kits protested for a moment but when Skypool began ushering them into the den, they went in without further complaint. Only Hazekit darted back out for a moment. The two toms, practically brothers, stood there in silence with Spiceheart sitting not far off.

"I wish we were training together," mewed Hazekit, staring at the ground.

"You'll be an apprentice soon." Thistlepaw nudged Hazekit. "Then we can go hunting together, go on patrol, fight by each other's side!"

Hazekit nodded and gave a half-hearted smile. They touched noses and Hazekit scampered into the nursery before he was missed.

"Ready?" mewed a voice in his ear. Thistlepaw turned around to see Spiceheart.

"Are we going to go train?!" Thistlepaw bounced on his pads.

Spiceheart gave a _mrrrrow_ of laughter. "Tomorrow we'll got see the forest!"

"All of it?"

"No silly! That's impossible!"

"I'm so excited!"

"Me too!"

"So what now?"

"Sleep," said Spiceheart simply. Thistlepaw drooped his shoulders. "A warrior needs his rest to do the next day's activities." Thistlepaw nodded. "Do you know where the apprentice's den is?" Thistlepaw pointed his tail in the direction of his new den. "Good. I'll see you at dawn!" and Spiceheart bounded off to the warrior's den, wondering how she was going to sleep when she was just as excited as Thistlepaw.

Thistlepaw padded to the apprentice's den and was surprised to see only Shimmerpaw.

"Hi," mewed Thistlepaw cautiously.

Shimmerpaw, who was already curled in her nest, merely flicked her tail.

"Where's Echopaw and Palepaw?"

"Palepaw is sick and Echopaw sleeps in the medicine cat's den," she replied indifferently.

"Where do I sleep? Here?"

"Knock yourself out."

Thistlepaw went to go lay down in a bunch of moss, but he caught the stench of Palepaw. "Palepaw sleeps here!" Shimmerpaw only shrugged. _She's strange…_ Nevertheless, he found a bit of moss that was stench free, settled himself down, and went to sleep.

* * *

Thistlepaw was awoken by Spiceheart's greeting. He opened his eyes to see that Shimmerpaw was also awake and already grooming herself. Disregarding personal hygiene for the moment, he immediately stood, shook off the sleepiness, and stepped out into the cold. The thaw that Skypool had mentioned yesterday was clearly gone. He then padded to where he saw Spiceheart and Winterstorm were waiting for them.

"How was your night's sleep?" asked Spiceheart.

"Good. I can't wait to start!"

Shimmerpaw then came out and sat next to them. Winterstorm acknowledged her with a flick of his tail.

"Shimmerpaw, today you will be given an assessment. It is a combination of tracking and hunting. Spiceheart will be giving Thistlepaw a tour of the territory. I am going with them, and it is your job to track me. They are not your concern. And while you are tracking me, you need to catch at least two pieces of prey. Is that clear?" Shimmerpaw nodded. _This will be easy! Especially with all of the snow!_ "You need to wait a few moments after we leave. I would like you to clear out the apprentice's bedding before you start. You do not need to put new moss in. Spiceheart will later do that with Thistlepaw."

Spiceheart then led the small patrol out of camp and into the frosty land. The paths leading to the borders were well worn into the snow and easy to follow. The entrance to camp was normally hidden with ferns and leaves, but now there was just dead bracken and thorns. But beyond that there were mess of white pine trees that were practically identical. Each was covered with a blanket of snow while icicles hung from the branches.

"Whoa," admired Thistlepaw. He looked up. These trees were huge!

"Aren't they pretty?" agreed Spiceheart. "It also makes a good place for camp."

"Why?"

"All the trees look the same. They are the same color, same shape, roughly the same height. They all smell the same, too. That makes it harder for the enemy to find our camp," explained Spiceheart. Thistlepaw nodded in understanding.

"Except when there's snow! Because they can see our tracks!" Thistlepaw exclaimed, looking back at where they had been. "Wait! How is – Shimmerpaw! She'll be able to track Winterstorm – ah!

"Slow down, youngster," mewed Winterstorm.

"Um! Won't Shimmerpaw be able to track you easily?" Thistlepaw tried again. Winterstorm just gave a small smile and didn't say anything. Thistlepaw looked to Spiceheart, who shrugged. The group pressed on, Spiceheart pointing out various landmarks and Thistlepaw asking a lot of questions. Eventually they got to the older part of the forest. The trees were of oak and beech, tall and large in size. They were spaced further apart; as a consequence, it was breezier because there were fewer trees to block the wind.

"Well, this is where I leave you," announced Winterstorm. He padded over to one of the trees, looking up at the branches.

"I don't understand," muttered Thistlepaw.

"The wind has blown off all of the snow on these branches," said Winterstorm with a flick of his tail.

"So… you won't leave any tracks?" Winterstorm nodded at the young apprentice.

"Okay, but I still don't get—"

"Just watch," interrupted Spiceheart. Winterstorm heaved his large frame up on the tree and worked his way up. He went up a few branches and walked out on one of them. The trees were spaced out, but their branches reached even further. Once the strength of the branch was suggestive, Winterstorm leapt and landed on the branch of another tree. Thistlepaw made a silent "oh" shape with his mouth. Shimmerpaw's task just got much more difficult.

* * *

Of course, Shimmerpaw did not think that at all. After she had cleaned out her den, she left camp and went into the forest with high spirits. Little did she know, Blazingstar was tracking her as she was tracking Winterstorm. So far, things were going quite well. She just followed the footprints without using her nose to track his scent. After a while, she noticed that the tracks split up; two tracks kept going and another trail led to the base of a large beech tree. She gave a sniff. _So… Winterstorm thinks he can out smart me by climbing up a tree. _A cold breeze rustled her fur, and she gave a shiver before leaping onto the trunk. _Best to get this done quick before I freeze my way to StarClan_, Shimmerpaw thought as she made her way up the tree. Once she found the branch that he set out on, she noticed that the snow was gone from the limbs and that it was a great deal breezier up there. She ventured farther out onto the branch. With a sigh she realized that Winterstorm crossed trees by jumping across the branches. _That's not going to stop me!_

After tree hopping three beech trees and two oak trees, Shimmerpaw followed Winterstorm's scent down to the ground. Once again, his pawsteps made marks in the snow. She shook her head, _this is a breeze._ She followed the tracks a little while longer before she came to the river that intersected the territory. This was the same river that serves as a border of ForestClan and MeadowClan. Several of its tributaries also flow into MarshClan. Needless to say, the river was quite large. Winterstorm's tracks and scent led straight up to the bank of the river, which made Shimmerpaw's heart sink. For the past few days, there had been a thaw in the region. Only last night did it freeze again, resuming leaf-bare's cold grasp. Shimmerpaw sat down at the bank of the river. It was clear that Winterstorm had waded, if not swum, through the icy water to the other side. Or perhaps he even had swum up or downstream. _Maybe he backtracked, to trick me out?_ Shimmerpaw thought hopefully. She quickly padded down the river to see if his scent were on the other side. After some time, she raced back and checked downstream. Nothing. She glanced up. _Maybe there's a tree I can cross over?_ But no branches crossed over.

"Foxdung," she swore out loud. But she didn't care; no one was there to hear her. Or so she thought.

Blazingstar had followed Shimmerpaw without her detection. It was only when she ventured up stream did he climb down from the tree and hid in the bracken. His white patched pelt helped him blend in with the frozen terrain. Fortunately for him, he was downwind of Shimmerpaw, so she had no way of smelling him. Blazingstar observed Shimmerpaw carefully. He could tell that she was cold, not only from how her fur was fluffed up to maximum but also how she shifted her paws on the frozen mud and silt. Her tail twitched anxiously. He could only imagine what was going through her head: To cross the cold river or not too.

Blazingstar spared a moment's thought to the assessment Winterstorm had created. Most assessments just assessed various skills, such as hunting, fighting, tracking, etc. In this assessment, Winterstorm wanted to test Shimmerpaw's will, determination, endurance, and above all else, her ability to sacrifice and continue without knowing the future. It was never an assessment about tracking. By crossing the river, Shimmerpaw risks freezing. She will be soaked with cold water, and the cold temperature and the wind will freeze the water in her pelt. It would be unlikely, but it would be possible that she could die out here. More likely, she also risks getting sick. In addition, she thinks that she will suffer these ailments all by herself, alone in the forest.

By crossing the river, he had set up a real life scenario for Shimmerpaw: what if an enemy patrol had stolen some kits and had crossed the river to get away? Will Shimmerpaw chase after them, even if she has to cross the river and take the risk, or would she cease the pursuit? Even if there were a tree or an easier spot to cross, she would be wasting time. This assessment ultimately comes down to the question that asks if Shimmerpaw is ready to sacrifice herself if she needs to. _I have no doubt that she would cross the river if an enemy patrol had stolen kits,_ Blazingstar thought to himself._ But does Shimmerpaw realize that this is what the assessment is all about?_

She did not. Eventually, after some time of Shimmerpaw debating a course of action, Winterstorm padded up from behind Blazingstar. Shimmerpaw spun around with shock. "Winterstorm! Did you really go through the river?"

Winterstorm nodded grimly at her. His pelt was frozen stiff, clinging to his body. "I went back to camp and waited. When you didn't return, we sent out a patrol looking for you. And I started on my trail again."

"But—why?"

"Well, in case you were lying frozen somewhere.'

"So, you _wanted—"_

"I wanted you to cross the river. That was the whole point of the assessment. It was never about tracking me."

Shimmerpaw opened her mouth, clearly confused. "I don't understand."

"To be a warrior means to continue forward when you do not know the future, no matter how hard or scary, and no matter how many or much of a sacrifice you need to make. This assessment was to see whether you were willing to sacrifice your health, or possibly your life, to complete the test. The philosophy behind it is that if you are willing to sacrifice yourself just for the sake of completing your last assessment to become a warrior, then wouldn't you sacrifice yourself again to protect your clan?"

Shimmerpaw's pelt burned with shame.

"Also, a warrior must see through deception. You are a senior apprentice now; your training is no longer prepare, leap, and kill. And neither is the life of a warrior. Not only in battle, but also at Gatherings, you need to see what is really going on. What really motivates cats; what their true fears are; and how they will ultimately act."

"Were you really willing to sacrifice me, just so I could become a warrior? I could have died out here all by myself and you—you wouldn't have known! Or cared!" accused Shimmerpaw.

Winterstorm flicked his tail at Blazingstar, who padded out from behind the bracken. "You were never alone."

Shimmerpaw's eyes widen in surprise. _He followed me this whole time?_ _Another thing I didn't realize…_ She then closed her eyes and bowed her head. "So I failed?"

"Yes, you did," answered Blazingstar, almost as sad and disappointed as she was.


	19. Chapter 19

"Did it go well!?" Echopaw padded off quickly towards Shimmerpaw.

Quickly her tail dropped as she looked at her old denmate's expression. Her tail dragged on the ground behind her. Her dark down ears were slightly back and her eyes were dull with disappointment.

"I'm sorry." Echopaw was surprised how for a moment her mew sounded like Skypool's. "What happened?"  
Shimmerpaw let out a long sigh. "I didn't pass my test. I failed it."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."  
"But it was!" For a second Shimmerpaw's eyes flashed with anger. "You should have seen Winterstorm and Blazingstar's response. I'm so humiliated!"

"Come on let go out and..."

"ECHOPAW!" Peppernose's yowl made her wince for a moment.  
"I'm sorry." Echopaw stammered, "Can we talk later? I've got to go...you know Peppernose, he's not the most patient cat in the clan."

"It's fine." Shimmerpaw meowed cooly and looked away.  
"...Sorry it just..."  
"It's fine."  
Echopaw looked back over at the sandy she-cat and padded swiftly away towards the medicine cat den.

A few sunrises had passed since Shimmerpaw's assessment and she sat very still, watching Echopaw gathering herbs from behind the ferns in Peppernose's den and tucking them neatly into a pack to carry towards the nursery. Her paws moved swiftly, it was obvious she was more sure of herself since her first kitting, the night she had been accepted as a medicine cat apprentice. But still the tip of her tail flicked back and forth, betraying her anxiety. A few times she murmured to herself, but Shimmerpaw could not hear anything of what she said. Dusk was falling and the air was cold. Most of the clan lingered around instead of retiring to their nests. The air was still and the camp mostly silent. Low murrows could be heard from the cats in the clearing, but Skypool's yowls from inside the nursery was the loudest noise in the night. The nursery trembled as Maplefur emerged followed by her four kits, their eyes all wide with excitement. The kits quickly located Mintyheart and began playing with him and attacking his flicking tail. Maplefur trailed after them complaining about having to leave the nursery at this hour. Hazekit followed, tail dropping, after them but did not play with the other kits; at least not until Mintyheart called him over, for which Maplefur responded with a disapproving snort. Winterstorm sat flicking his tail then stood, after hearing a loud wail from Skypool, and began pacing.

"ECHOPAW!" Peppernose's yowl came from inside the nursery.  
Echopaw quickly grabbed the bundle of herbs and swiftly padded towards the nursery. Reaching the entrance she paused, just for a moment, and took a deep breath to calm herself. _I'm about to help my half siblings come into the clan. Please Starclan, look after Skypool. _

"Do you have what I need?" Peppernose snapped from Skypool's side.

"Yes Peppernose."  
"Well what do you have!?"  
"Borage to help her milk come once the kits are born. Camomile to sooth her and to keep up her strength up and..." Echopaw began up tying the leave bundle.

"No not Chamomile! Clueless apprentice." Peppernose hissed.

"That's why I brought Lamb's Ear too. I knew one was better during kitting and the other was for after."  
Peppernose let out a humph and pressed a paw onto Skypool's side.  
Skypool bit down hard on the stick in her mouth as her belly trembled. After it passed she spat the stick down and turned to her daughter. "Hello Echopaw." She purred fondly "I'm so proud of you. You're doing great."  
Echopaw's whiskers twitched and she looked down, happily embarrassed by her mother's praise. "Would you like some water? I've got some moss soaked."  
"Yes, thank you."

"Give her some Lamb's Ear has well." Peppernose added. "It shouldn't be much longer now. And I'm feeling four kits, she'll need her full strength."  
Echopaw nodded and got to work chewing up the herbs.

Outside the den Winterstorm went between pacing and staring up into the sky. Skypool's yowls seemed to make his face wrench and his pacing increase.  
"Shouldn't be much longer." Mintyheart called over to Winterstorm.

Winterstorm nodded.

"She's strong. This isn't her first kitting." Mintyheart added. "And she's got Peppernose and Echopaw."

"I know." Winterstorm sat by his silver clanmate. "But she's not due yet. The kits are coming early..."  
"They are not that early. And it's a big litter. Maplefur was a bit early too, and all the kits were healthy." Mintyheart winced as little claws and teeth latched onto his tail.

A loud yowl split the frozen air followed by the sound of a much tinier wail.

"Congratulations" Mintyheart purred to the white warrior.

Inside the nursery Echopaw was busy licking the first tiny kit. "An all white tom." Echopaw reported aloud. "He's strong."  
Skypool purred but it quickly became twisted into another contraction.

"Push Skypool. Good." Peppernose's meow sounded pleased. It was obvious that this wasn't Skypool's first kitting.  
Echopaw picked up the little white kit and placed him near Skypool's belly and rushed over and grabbed the other kit and began licking it fiercely.  
"You doing great Skypool." The young she-cat called. "It's another tom. He's white with ginger on his face and tail." After he was clean she placed her half brother by her mother's side.  
"They're wonderful." Skypool purred giving each tom a soft lick. "Maybe Maplefur was right. I didn't stop my warrior duties early and I've got two toms so far." Her mew was soft and joking.  
Echopaw let out an amused purr but Peppernose got right back to the task at paw.  
"Skypool, I need you to focus and save your strength. You're only halfway done."  
Skypool nodded and bit down hard on the stick as another contraction rippled through her body.  
"Should I get her more Lamb's Ear?" Echopaw asked the black tom.  
"Just a little more."

The third kit took more time and as time passes Peppernose became more concerned. Skypool's strength was fading. He began kneading her belly deeply, which caused the queen discomfort and pain but she did not protest. After a good deal of help from Peppernose, the third kit appeared. Echopaw quickly nipped open the sack and began licking the little kit dry.

Skypool was breathing hard and very tired as Echopaw placed the third kit near the queen's belly.

"A she-kit." Echopaw reported. "White with faint gray stripes."

"Ahh!" Skypool cried and her body shook again.

"Echopaw, come here." Peppernose called to his apprentice.

"Coming" Echopaw hurried to his side by Skypool.  
"Put your paws here." Peppernose instructed.  
"On her belly?"  
"Yes." Peppernose's meow was firm. "And knead."  
"But...I'm just an apprentice. Shouldn't you be doing this?"  
"This is how you learn." He growled. "Besides, this kit is smaller she shouldn't have any trouble with it."  
Echopaw placed her paws gently on her mother's belly and began to knead.  
"Push down harder. Feel the kit?"  
Echopaw nodded.

"Used your paws to help Skypool push it out. Knead down and back." Peppernose turned and padded away, leaving Echopaw alone.  
"Where are you going?" Echopaw mewed, worried.  
"I'm giving her the borage." He mewed calmly. "Keep kneading."  
Echopaw continued and within moments a loud wail of a kit could be heard.  
"That one's a fighter." Skypool sighed, relieved to be done.  
Peppernose gave the queen the herbs and joined Echopaw, who was licking the youngest kit.

"She's small." He stated flatly. "A runt. She will have to be strong and lucky to make it through the winter." He added more softly so that only Echopaw could hear.  
She hissed at him and flicked her tail at his whiskers. "Shhh! A she-kit and white." She purred to Skypool. "Shall I get Winterstorm?"  
Skypool nodded and Peppernose gave the queen a few more herbs to help her body and it's strength recover. "Tell him to bring in a mouse too!" Peppernose called after the brown spotted apprentice.

In the clearing the icely wind whipped and snow began to fall again. Echopaw shivered, _out here was so different than the safe warm nursery_. Quickly Echopaw located Winterstorm sitting next to Mintyheart, with Blazingstar on Mintyheart's otherside. Spiceheart was sitting next to Blazingstar's den...guarding. _I bet Blazingstar offered his den to Maplefur and the kits for the night. _Winterstorm rose was he saw the brown she-cat approaching.

"Is she alright?" His mew was clearly worried.  
"She's fine and resting now. She had four kits." Echopaw's mew was a warm as the nursery's air.

"Congratulations Winterstorm." Blazingstar's mew was proud.

"Shall I wait to see her till morning. I bet she wants to sleep..." The white warriors stammered.  
"She want's to see you." Echopaw's golden eyes bore into her mother's new mate.

Winterstorm quickly stood and headed towards the nursery.  
"Peppernose wants you to bring her a mouse too!" Echopaw quickly called after the white tom.  
Winterstorm veered to the prey pile, snached a mouse and continued towards Skypool's scent. Just as he arrived Peppernose stepped out.  
"Can I go in?" Winterstorm asked around the mouse.  
Peppernose gave no answer and just padded briskly towards his den. Winterstorm paused for a moment and then squeezed inside.

The den was warm and had a strong smell of milk, mixed with new scents..._the kits. _Winterstorm slowly padded towards the golden and white she-cat who was purring so loud and deeply that it was all Winterstorm could hear. The howling wind outside faded and as he approached she turned to him, and somehow, her purrs became louder.  
"Skypool" He breathed.  
"Want to meet your kits?" She blinked warmly at him as he approached.

Sitting near her head he bent down and licked her between the ears affectionately. "How are you doing?"  
"I couldn't be happier." She looked up at him, her sky blue eyes twinkling in the night. "There are two toms and two she-cats." She licked ear kit between the ears. "Aren't they beautiful" She purred.

Winterstorm nodded. "Those two are snow white." He meowed softly, looking down at the kits.  
"Then that shall be their names." She flicked her tail to the eldest kit. "He will be Whitekit. He's your first born. And she's the youngest." She rested her the tip of her tail on the smallest kit at her belly. "She will be Snowkit."

Winterstorm purred. "And the other two? The other tom looks like you."  
"I like our theme." The queen purred. "Plus it's fitting given the season they were born in. How about the eldest she-kit is Frostkit and the ginger and white tom is Frozenkit."  
"Perfect." Winterstorm mewed and looked at the four tiny cats pushing against Skypool's belly.  
"Will you stay with me tonight?" Her blue eyes looked up at him.

Winterstorm could not control the deep purr within as he settled down next to Skypool, her fur warm against his own. Her breathing slowed and fell into a rhythm but still her soft purr continued continued throughout the night. Winterstorm lay awake for some time, silently thanking Starclan for keeping her safe throughout her kitting and pleading with them to never let her lose them.

A few sunrises had passed since Skypool and Winterstorm's kits had been born and the clan was back into their routine. The only big difference was Winterstorm spent a bit more time in the nursery and Maplefur complained more and more about overcrowding. Mintyheart did his best to take his kits out to play as often as he could but with the bad weather and lack of warriors for duties his time was already stretched thin. The snow had stopped for the time being and Echopaw made her way to where Palepaw way laying still sick. Mintyheart was about to head out with Icecloud and Spiceheart to do some hunting when he saw the medicine cat apprentice. Flicking his tail the his patrol that he'd catch up he followed her to his apprentice's side.

_He looks worse everytime I see him. _Mintyheart thought. "How are you Palepaw?" Mintyheart asked the pale tom.  
Palepaw managed to open his eyes but didn't say anything and within moments he was sleeping again. Echopaw ran her paws over her old denmate and placed her ear near his chest.

"He's lost more weight." Mintyheart observed.  
Echopaw nodded.

"I bring him prey at least twice a day." Mintyheart shook his head, unable to understand what was wrong with the little cat.  
"He can't keep it down." The spotted she-cat responded. "It's hard for him to eat."  
"Would it help if I chewed the prey for him and set some next to him?" Mintyheart suggested.  
_Echopaw looked up at the sleek silver tom. It was obvious that he himself had lost weight, most of the clan had. Prey was scarce because of leafbare, warriors were performing multiple patrols a day, and there were now nine kits in the nursery. Only five of them ate prey but Skypool had to eat a lot to make enough milk for all four of her kits. Still Mintyheart had offered to take on more...looking after Palepaw. Peppernose would never do that for me. _She sighed. "If you have time. Making sure he has prey and that you don't become sick is the most important."  
Mintyheart nodded and rose to his paws. Echopaw knew that she'd fine Mintyheart back here later, feeding Palepaw.

"Echopaw?" Mintyheart turnedback towards her. "Be honest with me. Is Palepaw getting better?"  
She paused and looked down to make sure her adoptive brother was sleeping.

"Peppernose never tells me anything." Mintyheart continued."But I want to know. I can handle it..."

"He's not getting better right now." Echopaw meowed flatly. "He gotten worse over the past few days but it seems like he's stopped digressing and there aren't many changes. But that's better then him getting worse still."

"Thank you." Mintyheart's mew was genuine and thankful.  
"I'll let you know of any changes." The young she-cat added as the black and silver warrior padded off.

The sun rose bright from behind the leafless tree tops and even though it was leafbare the sun warmed the cats pelts. Sunstone, Mintyheart, and Adderfang were just returning from the their first patrol of the day. Sunstone padded over to where Bluefrost was arranging more patrols. Bluefrost paused and looked up at the sandy tabby.  
"Any news?"  
"No. We renewed the scent makers along the Shadeclan border as well as the far border near the Two-leg place, but saw no cat." She reported swiftly. "Oh and Mintyheart caught a mouse on our return home."  
Bluefrost nodded and flicked his tail, dismissing her. "Icecloud and I will go to the Meadowclan boarder..."  
"Mind if I join?" Blazingstar meowed to his deputy. "I need a good run and the sun is shining. Plus that way we can have a larger hunting patrol."  
Bluefrost nodded. "We need all the prey we can get. Winterstorm, take Shimmerpaw, Spiceheart, and Thistlepaw on a hunting patrol. I advise spreading out to hunt. Prey will be scarce."  
Winterstorm nodded as Bluefrost turned and followed after Blazingstar and Icecloud.  
"I can join you after I take this to Palepaw." Mintyheart called out to the white warrior. "I've still got some energy left."  
Winterstorm nodded and padded off with the rest of the patrol. Mintyheart picked up the still warm mouse and prodded Palepaw awake. "Palepaw? Palepaw? Wake up. I want you to eat this okay? It's still warm. I just caught it for you." Mintyheart looked into the tired eyes of his apprentice.

"Th-th-thanks" Palepaw croaked and began licking up the pile of meat Mintyheart had laid beside him. Mintyheart had been doing this for a few days and while the frail tom was nowhere near better, Echopaw had informed him that Palepaw had stopped losing weight.

"I've got to go out hunting agian." Mintyheart mewed softly. "Get some rest and better soon, okay? I miss you out there." Mintyheart flicked Palepaw on the ear and padded off out of camp.

The sky was clear and Mintyheart padded quickly after Winterstorm's patrol's tracks. Soon he caught up to Spiceheart and her apprentice.  
"Hey Spiceheart" Mintyheart whispered, so not to disterbe any prey in the area. "Can I talk to you?"  
Spiceheart nodded and turned to Thistlepaw, "check over their near the roots of that oak. But be very quiet and remember what we practiced yesterday."

He nodded and stalked off towards the tree.

"Yes?" Spiceheart turned around, facing the silver tom.  
"Well...I was going to do some hunting. Where did Winterstorm and Shimmerpaw head?"  
"Winterstorm went toward the old maples and I think he sent Shimmerpaw towards the training hollow...why?"  
"Just wondering." Minyheart mewed swiftly.  
"Where are you going then?" Spiceheart squinted at him.  
"Ummm...maybe toward the pines or out towards the meadow near the two-legs. I heard scuffles out there earlier this morning." Mintyheart added quickly.

"Scuffles eh? Did they belong to prey or a sleek black cat?"

Mintyheart swished his tail and playful batted at her ears.

"Hey!" Spiceheart exclaimed. "I just wanted to know if I'd have to come up with a story of where you are or not." She playfully batted back at him.  
" I might stop by and say hi." Mintyheart looked down, it didn't feel right but he really missed Charming. "I won't be gone long and I'll get prey why I'm at it."  
"Sure sure sure. Just run along." She purred. "Hey Mintyheart!"  
"What?"  
"This is serious isn't it?" Her tone had lost all of its lightheartedness.

Mintyheart took a deep breath, _I can't lie to her, _"Yes."

Spiceheart nodded slowly, trying to wrap her head around it all. "Have you told him about your kits?"  
"...No."

_So he's not all the way there yet...he still has his secrets from him. _She mewed to herself. "Don't stay out too late." Her tone switched once again to its playful state.  
Mintyheart nodded and padded off, disappearing behind a pile of snow.

Mintyheart's paws swiftly covered the frozen ground as he raced towards the two-leg's nests. Because of the snow he was unable to take the short cut through Shadeclan, because he's tracks would betray him. But he enjoyed the run and the feeling of the crisp air in his lungs, plus the longer way gave him more time to think about what Spiceheart had said. _Should I tell Charming about my kits..._

It wasn't long before Mintyheart crossed into the small stretch of woods between Shadeclan and the burned down barn. The silver tom scanned the trees but saw no movement. Opening his jaws wide he tasted the air, Charming's scent was here.

"Charming?" Mintyheart called as he looked around.  
A surprised and delighted mew followed quickly. "Mintyheart!" The black tom emerged from the trees and pressed his head into Mintyheart's fur.

"Mintyheart...you're thinner." Charming pulled away and studied the warrior. "Is everything alright?"  
"Oh I'm fine. I've just been really busy. That's why I haven't been here much...I can't sneak away as often..."  
"I understand." Charming licked the top of Mintyheart's ear fondly. "It's leaf bare and you need to support your clan. How is everyone? The kits?"  
"What!?" Mintyheart's jaw dropped. _How did he know about them?!  
_"...Thistlekit and Hazekit?" Charming looked a bit surprised by Mintyheart's panicked mew.

"Oh, right." Regaining his composure he continued. "Well Thistlekit is now Thistlepaw. He's Spiceheart's apprentice."  
"Wonderful! And he's taking to it well?"

"Oh he loves it and she's a great fit for him. They do good together." Mintyheart praised.

"Well let's hunt while you fill me in." Charming suggested. "How is your apprentice doing? He should be a warrior soon if I remember correctly."

"Well...he's really sick. So it may be another moon but not much longer. He's doing well, aside from the sickness that is."  
The two toms padded on for a while, pausing only to hunt. Charming managed to catch a squirrel while it was digging in the snow as well as a thin gray mouse. Mintyheart was not as lucky, both a robin and a thrush escaped from him.  
"What's wrong?" Charming asked kindly as he sat down next to the warrior, their fur touching lightly. _This wasn't normal for him_. _Mintyhreat was normally as good of a stalker as they come...something was troubling him... _"Is it Palepaw?"  
Mintyheart shook his head. _I can't tell him..._

"I won't push you; just know that I'm here for you, whatever you need." Charming pressed closer to Mintyheart and the silver cat leaned back on him.

"I know...and I want to tell you...its just...I'm afraid I might lose you." Mintyheart stammered on without thinking. "I should have told you about it moons ago..."

Charming turned, his golden amber eyes locked warmly with Mintyheart's icey blue ones; "Nothing you confess could make me love you less."

Mintyheart searched Charming's eyes but found nothing but warmth and support. "I know." He breathed. "I'll tell you."  
"Only when you're ready."  
"I'm ready." Mintyheart took a deep breath. "I have kits. They are four moons old and Maplefur is their mother. I made a poor decision one night, trying to right a wrong I thought I committed, but that moment of weakness became one of my greatest blessings." He didn't dare look up. Fear gripped him tightly and silenced him.

"What are their names?"  
Mintyheart looked up, shocked, _Charming's meow was as soft and warm as it was before he began. _"Jaggedkit, Brackenkit, Maggotkit, and Preciouskit. She refuses to let me rename Maggotkit but..."  
"Three toms and one she-kit?"  
"...yes."  
"I bet they are perfect." Charming's whiskers twitched.

"They are." Mintyheart purred. "I didn't think you'd take this well..." Mintyheart looked up, still worried.

"Mintyheart..."Charming began, his voice now more serious. "I need you to be honest with me. Hold nothing back and tell me the truth and what lies in your heart, no matter what it is. Will you do that?"  
"I owe you that now more than ever."  
"Do you still love Maplefur?" Charming's gaze was not accusing but intense.  
"She is the mother of my kits and I will always look out for her, but I never loved her...not the way I love you."

Charming stepped forward and the two cats touched noses.

The sun rose higher into the sky as the cats sat at talked. Mintyheart shared stories of his kits and tales of how Maplefur mothered. "I wish I could see them." Charming mewed softly.  
"I wish you could too." Mintyheart purred. "Well...there is a way..."

"No. I don't want to risk your exposure to the clan, no one knows right?"  
"Spiceheart does, but she would never tell anyone."  
Charming nodded trusting Mintyheart's judgement of the speckled warrior.  
"There is a way for you to see them, they wouldn't see you, but you could see them. It's risky..."

"I would love to see them." Charming mewed flatly. "But how?"  
"I will take them out for a walk. You can be hiding up in a tree and I'll lead them past you. You'd have to be close to the camp..." Mintyheart looked up, a bit unsure.  
"I'll roll in pine needles to mask my scent." Charming suggested, showing Mintyheart he approved of the plan. "When shall we meet?"  
"Today is clear and sunny. How about now?" Mintheart flicked his tail happily.

"Okay."  
"Give me a head start then follow the border along Shadeclan, once you cross into Forestclan stay in the trees there is an old oak not to far off with hole in it where an owls nest was before we chased it off, hide in there and I'll lead them to you." The silver warriors eyes gleamed.

Mintyheart padded into the camp with the prey Charming had caught hanging from his jaws. There was nothing on the freshkill pile and he shook his head worriedly.  
"Winterstorm brought prey to Skypool" Blazingstar mewed from across the clearing. "Bring the squirrel to Peppernose and Echopaw and the mouse to Maplefur. I'm going out to get more."

Slipping into the crowded nursery Mintyheart placed the mouse near Maplefur.  
"That's it?" She snapped.

"The woods is bare." He mewed softly, but there is another patrol heading out now, I think..."  
"You think?!" She hissed at him. "All I see is Blazingstar!"  
Realizing he needed her away to take the kits anywhere he added, "I've been out all day. I can't go out again. But I can take care of the kits if you want to go out?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Fine! I won't let my daughter starve!" Lashing her tail she pelted off into the forest.  
Mintyheart turned towards the three kits, who looked up at him. "Hurry eat up. There is something outside I want to show you."  
The kits' eyes twinkled once more and quickly the mouse was gone.  
"What did you want to show us!?" Jaggedkit exclaimed and he finished his last bite of mouse.  
"Come on." Mintyheart hopped out of the warm den.  
"We get to go out!" Preciouskit mewed, happily surprised.

Mintyheart continued towards the camp entrance but kept his pace slow enough for the kits to keep up. "Stay right next to me, understood?"  
All the kits nodded.  
"Wait, we are leaving camp?" Brackenkit's eyes widened. "But..."  
"Shhhh!" Jaggedkit nipped his brother.

The kits swung their heads around from side to side, taking in as much as they could. Mintyheart lead them slowly, explaining sounds and scents as they went. Finally they reached the old oak tree and the warrior halted.

"Okay. We'll take a rest here before heading back." Mintyheart sat down, purring, as he watched his kits take in the forest for the first time.  
"But I'm not tired. I want to go farther." Jaggedkit begged.  
"One day soon you will." Mintyheart licked the black and orange kit. His little pelt glowed in the sunlight. "Soon you'll race through this forest. You'll know every stick and stone. But for now, this is as far as you'll go."

Jaggedkit sighed, then quickly turned and attacked his sister, pinning her into a snowbank. Brackenkit lept at Jaggedkit and all three kits tumbled around Mintyheart's paws. Mintyheart rolled some snow into a ball and played with the kits as they batted it around the tree's roots.

"Come on." Mintyheart mewed to his kits. "We have to get back before your mother."  
"Noooo!"  
"Already?"  
"But we just got here?"  
Can we plan one more game?"  
"Please?"  
"No no no. Come on. But promise me, this is our secret. Okay?" Mintyheart dropped his mew to nothing more than a whisper and all the kits nodded fiercely.

Once back in the nursery, the three kits snuggled up to their father and here asleep in a flash.  
"You sure tired them out." Skypool purred as she woke up from her dozing, her four kits tucked safely beside her belly.  
Mintyheart nodded and his mind drifted to Maggotkit. _I wish he could have joined us...I'll make sure to see him tonight. _Not long after Maplefur returned, a lone bird in her jaws. Mintyheart stood and Maplefur eyed him suspiciously as he padded out. Once in the wood he retraced his steps back to the oak and, digging his claws into the tree's bark, climbed up to the owl's old nest.

"They're great." Charming exclaimed. "It took all my willpower not to jump down there and join you. You're a great father."  
"Thanks."  
"Where was the fourth though?"  
"He's staying in Peppernose's den for a few nights. He's got a bit of a cold. Nothing to worry too much about though." Mintyheart reassured the black tom.

They sat and talked about the kits as the sun fell.  
"I better be going." Mintyheart's meow was sad, as it always was when they parted.

"Here, I caught this on my way here." Charming passed Mintyheart a rather large thrush. "And there is something else I wanted to warn you about." Charming added. "There have been a lot of Shadeclan patrols near your borders lately. They are not hunting...they seem to be looking around...almost spying. It may be nothing but I thought you should know."  
"Thanks." Mintyheart nodded his gratitude. "I'll tell Blazingstar."  
"I'll let you know if I find out more."

The two cats touched cheeks and disappeared into the long shadows.

Dawn had already broke when Hazekit opened his eyes. Stretching in his nest he gazed around the den. Skypool was still asleep with her four mouse sided kits mewing softly at her belly. Skypool' nest was closest to him and sometimes their pelts brushed in the night and on colder nights she'd ask him to join her and share the warmth. Maplefur was awake and the rhythmic licking sound and occasional kit growls told of Preciouskit's first of many tortures of the day ahead. Hazekit rose and gave his own sleek pelt a quick lick, he was already aware of how his pelt differed naturally from that of the clan born kits. Slipping out, he padded softly into the clearing. The ground was frozen till but there was no new snow, leaving the clearing with a dingy dead look. The camp was very quiet and Hazekit assumed that the patrols were already out and the rest of the clan must still be within their nests. Mintyheart was the only warrior he could see within the camp and he was distracted by Brackenkit and Jaggedkit, who pounced around happily at their father's side.

_I wish he could be my mentor, _Hazekit thought as he overheard Mintyheart playing with the two toms, _Stupid Palepaw, _Hazekit hissed to himself.

Hazekit sat, looking around the clearing he was confined to. _I'm so bored, it's dumb that we have to stay within the camp. Besides I was out exploring at the barn all the time, and I was even smaller than Mintyheart's kits..._

Hazekit flicked his tail back and forth, his mind made up. He rose to his paws and, sticking to the edge of camp, crept to the dirt place tunnel and padded out, leaving the camp behind him. Quickly he began towards the trees so that he wouldn't be so easily spotted. Once he reached the large trees over head he slowed down. The wind above made the tree's limbs creek and there were few bird's songs in the air. But there was another sound too, cats, and they were coming closer. Thinking quickly Hazekit dove under a small bush, and just to be sure he clawed up some leaves and tucked himself under them.

Legs and paws appeared and as they passed by, Hazekit held his breath.

_Blazingstar, Sunstone...and..._

The warriors halted as Blazingstar lifted his tail.  
"What?" Sunstone meowed, almost annoyed.

"Do you smell something?"Blazingstar asked as he opened his mouth and drew in a deep breath.

"Hopefully a warm piece of prey at camp." Sunstone muttered, "My paws are frozen form being out here before the sun was up."

"I don't smell anything." Adderfang reported. "Well, I smell turned over leaves and the smell of exposed earth but that could be from anything, a squirrel maybe?"  
"Hummm..." Blazingstar paused but started again towards camp a few heartbeats later.

Hazekit took in a deep breath. _That was close...good thing I went under those leaves. _He purred to himself. He continued on a bit longer and as he walked, he thought. He thought back to the barn, the hayloft, his mother, his sisters, Boo, and the horses. He made his mind up, he didn't know how to get to the barn again but he'd find a way to get there. He'd visit it and sit on the fence post like he did as a tiny kitten. Besides, he had the whole day to find it. Padding on through the tall bare trees everything began to look the same, but he picked a straight path and continued on it for sometime. Letting his guard down he let his mind wander up ahead, to the big strong horses that made the ground thunder beneath their might feet. His mind whirled with the memory...

"What are you doing out here!?" A stern meow came from behind the gray and white kit. Spinning around he looked up into the cold face of Bluefrost.  
"I'm going for a walk." Hazekit was proud of how confident his meow sounded.

"You're a kit and you are not allowed to leave the clearing." Bluefrost tried to control his annoyance, after all the kit was probably not as familiar with the Warrior Code.

"I've been out before." Hazekit retorted.  
"When?" Hissed Bluefrost.

"Well I wasn't born in the clan!"

The cocky sound in Hazekit's mew made it hard for Bluefrost to control himself, but taking a deep breath he looked down at the kit. "Well, Blazingstar allowed you in the clan now, so you must adhere to our rules. Back to camp. Now." He bent down to pick up Hazekit by his scruff but the kit hissed and padded forward.

"I can walk! I made it this far! I'm not a newborn kit!" His eyes, green, glittered with rage.  
_Starclan help me. _Bluefrost thought _Or I'll end up batting this kit the rest of the way home. _

The clearing in the camp was much more active now. Cats padded all around, enjoying the sun as it bore through the clouds, even if the rays we weak. Bluefrost lead Hazekit towards Blazingstar's den, but the leader sat outside it, talking in hushed tones with Icecloud. Seeing Bluefrost and the kit, Icecloud said his goodbyes and padded off.

"What's the matter Bluefrost?" The black and white leader asked.

"I found Hazekit out in the forest."  
"Oh really?" Blazingstar's mew was not the least bit alarmed, after all, he was a kit once. "How far out?"  
"A good 50 fox-lengths into the forest." Bluefrost reported.

"Wow." Blazingstar sounded impressed. "That's far for a kit. But Hazekit," His tone now more serious but still not laced with anger. "You can't go out of the camp until you're an apprentice. Which won't be much longer, I promise. Okay?"

Hazekit dropped his eyes and lashed his tail but said nothing.  
"Shall I take him straight back to the nursery?" Bluefrost clearly wanted some form of punishment given to the kit.

"No. It's a beautiful day. Let him enjoy sometime in the clearing with the other kits. I meant to stop by and check on Skypool today anyway, so I'll tell her then. Thanks Bluefrost."

Bluefrost lashed his tail, clearly disagreeing, but listened to his leader and the two walked to the center of the clearing. "Now, stay in camp Hazekit." Turning Bluefrost headed back into the forest.


	20. Chapter 20

Not a hundred heartbeats had passed before Hazekit was making his way back towards the forest. _I want to visit the barn. Dumb Bluefrost. Now it will take be twice as long. _The leaves crunched under his pads as he ran through the woods, but seeing his size, he got tired quickly and had to walk again. Continuing on the same path as before, Hazekit ventured deeper into the forest. The wind had picked up slightly and made the branches above him groan loudly. Just as he began to get tired he recognized where he was, this is where Bluefrost had found him. Renewed by going farther he trudged on, every pawstep growing his confidence. Finally he had to stop. His paws were tired and he wanted to give them a good lick before continuing on. He was on the last paw when a stick broke from behind him and Bluefrost trotted up to the kit.  
"What is Starclan are you doing out here!? AGAIN!" Bluefrost's eyes burned into the kit's pelt.

Turning his head away from the deputy coolly he relayed, "I wanted to go for a walk."

"You wanted to go for a walk!?" Bluefrost was almost stunned by this kit's cool tone. "I told you to stay in camp!"

"I wanted to go for a walk." Hazekit looked over his shoulder at Bluefrost.  
"Oh Starclan help me." Bluefrost growled under his breath. "You are going back to camp now!"  
"No."  
"What!?"  
"I said, 'no'." Hazekit's eyes locked on Bluefrost's as they danced with deviance.

"Blazingstar and Skypool will hear about this." Bluefrost warned. "You won't be made and apprentice as soon."  
"Fine. I don't want to be an apprentice. I want to go for a walk."

Bluefrost couldn't take it anymore and he grabbed Hazekit by the scruff and started towards the camp. Hazekit let out a loud yowl and reached up behind his head, claws out, slashed at the gray warrior. His claw made contact with Bluefrost's upper lip and upon feeling his claw hit flesh, he tore it away, leaving Bluefrost's lip bleeding. The scratch was nothing deep, but enough to make Bluefrost drop the kit. Hazekit quickly got to his paws and turned to face the gray warrior, whose eyes were on fire.

"What do you think you are doing, Kittypet!" Bluefrost's anger got the best of him and the insult was automatic. Quickly he regained himself. "You are going back to camp. End of story. Unless you'd rather die out here!?"

"I wouldn't die out here. Maybe your pampered little clan kits would but I won't. I was out exploring as soon as I could walk! My whole litter was! I wasn't just sitting in a nest waiting till some cat said I was ready to learn! I went out. I explored. I practiced hunting in the long grass. I learned to climb fence posts! I clawed your lip and made you bleed." The last comment came out with a smirk.  
"You got lucky. Plus it's against the Warrior Code to turn a worthless back talking kit into crow food...although I'm willing to make an exception." Growled Bluefrost.  
Hazekit's eyes gleaned. He had gotten what he wanted, Bluefrost had lost his control. Hazekit twitched his whiskers, pleased with his work. At that moment Bluefrost realized it too. Growling, half at himself and half at the irritating kit, he grabbed the kit by the scruff once more and carried him towards camp. Hazekit didn't struggle at all as he was carried back, instead he kept very still, plotting his next adventure.

Bluefrost spit out Hazekit at Blazingstar's paws.  
"He was out there again!"  
"Oh...get Skypool." Blazingstar started.

"SKYPOOL!" Bluefrost's meow rang out. The queen quickly poked her head outside the nursery and seeing Hazekit between Bluefrost and Blazingstar swiftly hopped out and pelted over.  
"What happened?" Her mew was worried. She quickly gave the kit a sniff and was relieved that he was okay.  
"Tell her what happened." Blazingstar prompted the kit.

"I wanted to go for a walk..."  
"He left camp twice today! TWICE!" Bluefrost spat.  
"Oh no..." Skypool looked down and the fuming little kit. "Did something attack you!? Bluefrost, did you save him!? Thank you...!"

"He did not save me!" Hazekit hissed. "I was fine and I didn't need saving! In fact, I'm not the one whose bleeding! He is!"  
"Hazekit!" Skypool's mew was shocked. "Apologize! Now!"  
"Why!? I did nothing wrong! Everything I said was true!"  
"You will respect your elders! Plus he's your deputy! Apologize. Now." Her blue eyes were stern.

"Fine...sorry I scratched you." Hazekit grumbled. Hazekit rose and padded off towards the nursery without being excused but the three older cats let him go. When he was about to the entrance of his nest Thistlepaw padded up to him.  
"Whoa. What was that about?" Asked the apprentice.

"Nothing." Hazekit hissed and jumped into the nursery. "Just leave me alone."

Thistlepaw padded away, back towards Shimmerpaw, who was getting ready to help him change the elder's bedding. Blazingstar, Bluefrost, and Skypool padded towards the nursery and sat two tail lengths from it, and continued talking, this way they could make sure Hazekit didn't sneak away. Hazekit could hear them talking as he lay in his nest. Bluefrost gave a detailed report of the events of the day while the other two listened closely. When he finished Skypool was the first to speak. "This doesn't surprise me." Her mew was sad. "He's got to be homesick and missing his littermates and his mother. I don't know exactly what happened but from what Mintyheart has told me I wouldn't be surprised in the poor little kit is tormented all the time by their memories."  
Blazingstar nodded his agreement. "Those two kits have been through way more than kits should."

"Yes but Thistlepaw is adjusting fine." Bluefrost interrupted.

"Every cat mourns differently." Blazingstar's mew reflected his own suffering. "Have you noticed him trying to get out before?"  
Skypool nodded. "I have. He's been sniffing and exploring the edges of camp more often. A few times I caught him half way through the camp's main tunnel. But with the new kits it's been harder to keep and eye on him out here and be available for the others to nurse."  
Bluefrost and Blazingstar both nodded their understanding. Skypool had a huge heart and she loved Hazekit like her own. "I'll work on watching him better." She promised.

"We all will." Blazingstar meowed. "You worry about your kits and we'll help you keep an eye on him too."  
"They all are my kits."  
"I know." Blazingstar breathed. "And we will all help you look after them. Hazekit is testing his boundaries. It's normal. We just need to make sure he doesn't get into trouble, or worse, hurt."  
Skypool nodded. "Thank you. He'll be a good warrior one day."  
"I know. I can see it in him." Blazingstar's mew was honest and even Bluefrost nodded as he thought of the standoffish little tom.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Birds chattered noisily up above while most of the clan lay curled up in their nests. In the medicine cat's den Echopaw's side rose up and down rhythmically as she slept. The sun had not yet risen and a light snow had fallen overnight, leaving the tips of her brown pelt slightly white. Opening her eyes and yawning wide she looked around. The nest next to her's was empty.

"Peppernose." She flopped her tail into his nest and felt that it still clung on to a bit of warmth. _He hasn't been up for long._

"Peppernose!" She called a bit louder this time and rose to her feet. There was not rely. "PEPPERNO..." Her eyes fell onto tracks from her mentor's nest out into the camp. Peering out she saw that the fresh tracks in the new snow lead right out of camp. "Thanks a lot Pepperose" She growled "Go off and collect herbs without me. Totally forget you are a mentor now. Mousebrain." Although deep down, she knew he did not 'forget' to wake her. He had gotten up early to **avoid** his role as her mentor. Sighing, she gave herself a extensive licking. When she was done her spotted brown pelt gleamed in the sunlight, which was now making its first appearance of the day.

"What shall I do today?" She realized she was talking to herself up really, who would hear her anyway. And when Peppernose was around they hardly talked anyway, although that was not because of Echopaw's lack of trying. She realized that he was annoyed by her but part of her liked watching his pelt squirm. Besides it was good for the grumpy medicine cat to have some company. He was acting as if he was an elder already.

She padded into the herb storage area in, an old crack in a rock wall, and gave her eyes time to adjust to the low levels of light. She remembered the first time she poked her head in here. The smells were overwhelming and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. But that wasn't the case anymore. Echopaw breathed in the sweet and tangy smells with joy. She loved their powerful aromas and still marvelled at their healing properties.

"What a mess." She exclaimed looking around. "Toms are so messy." Echopaw purred at the thought of sounding like her old mentor, Sunstone. "Well maybe not all toms..." Her eyes fell over the piles of herbs. Some of the bundles were scattered about, leaves all over. Others looked as if they were in the way of walking and had gotten broken into little pieces. Another corner looked as if something had been chewed up and spit out there, most likely left behind from an old remedy.

"Well..." Echopaw mewed softly. "I'll go give the elders herbs for stiff joints, they have been complaining a lot. And then, of course, I'll go see how Palepaw is. I'm sure Mintyheart will be getting him something and I'll get him to eat his herbs with his prey. And I'll check in on Skypool and see how she is doing with the kits. Oh and I'll bring Maggotkit another dose, just in case. We don't want him relapsing at all. And after all that I'll clean up this awful mess if Peppernose isn't back yet...Great..." Echopaw purred rolling her eyes. "I'm talking to myself like a crazed cat. Guess I'm officially and medicine cat now that I've gone mad."

She felt a warm pelt brush hers for an instant and a sweet familiar scent reached her. Automatically she closed her eyes. "Hello Foxpaw." She whispered. "You'll keep me sane won't you? I'll just be talking to you, not to myself, okay?"

Echopaw's whiskers twitched as she heard a faint purr.  
"It's settled then." Echopaw stood and padded bouncily to get the herbs she needed. Time passed as she sorted what herbs she needed for which cat. Sometimes she had to pause and think deeply about the problem. She remembered most of what herbs she needed but there was still some that tripped her up, although most of these mixtures she had made before.

"So for Elderleaf and Heavystep, a few leaves of Tansy, for joint pain." She neatly wrapped the bundles and set them aside." Palepaw's herbs had already been made up, so she grabbed one of the bundles and placed it near the others. "Borage roots, catnip, a little catmint, and...camomile for strength." Echopaw recited. "Now the kit. Although Peppernose would say he is fine, he'll get a touch of catmint and some camomile."  
"Why are you so kind to the one who will bring you and your clan such pain?" It was Foxpaw's mew that reached her ears in a whisper.  
"Not now Foxpaw." Echopaw mewed flatley. She didn't like thinking about the warning Foxpaw had given here at the kit's birth. Picking up the four bundles in her mouth she padded out of the den. Her jaws felt as if they were going to break given how wide they were streached open around the bundles. Heading towards elder's den, she set Palepaw's and Maggotkit's herbs down outside the entrance. Stepping inside she saw that Elderleaf was still asleep and Heavystep was giving himself a good lick, although, given his weight he was unable to reach a patch of fur along his back and it stuck straight up. Purring to herself, Echopaw addressed the calico elder. "Hello Heavystep. Just bring you and Elderleaf some herbs from Peppernose. You said your joints had been acting up?"  
"Oh yes. Elderleaf is really stuff. Poor tom." Heaveystep breathed heavily from his workout of licking. "But he's still sleeping."  
"That's fine." Echopaw continued. "I'll just leave them here for him when he wakes up. You'll make sure he takes them right?" Echopaw asked, knowing that Elderleaf wasn't the fondest of herbs.  
"Oh of course! I can't believe the size of you Echopaw. It seems like only yesterday you were a little kit pouncing on my tail. I knew back then you'd be a great asset to the clan. Now look at you. A medicine cat apprentice. And a good one at that." Heavystep ranted.

Echopaw dropped her gaze at his praise but quickly wanted to get off the topic. "Have you seen Skypool's kits yet? There are four of them."  
"You know what, I haven't. I'll have to sneak down there sometime soon and see the little things. I just love kits. Are they all doing well?" He purred.  
"All strong." Echopaw reported proudly. "But I best be going. I've got a few more runs to make."  
"Good luck Echopaw." The patched elder called after the sleek she-cat.

Once in the clearing she picked up Palepaw's bundle and jogged across the camp to the hollow log Palepaw was staying in. Mintyheart was already there, chewing up a mouse he must have freshly caught for Palepaw. _He's so good to Palepaw. _Echopaw thought, _Why can't I have a mentor like that? _

"Hello Echopaw." The warrior greeted cheerfully.

Echopaw's whiskers twitched, "Greetings Mintyheart. Has Palepaw eaten anything?"  
"No, not yet. I've got a mouse for him though."

"Good. I'm going to mix up his herbs in it. That way I can be sure that he'll be eating most of it."  
The silver and black warrior nodded, "Good idea."

Echopaw carefully tore up the herbs and mixed them all into the already chewed mouse. Seeing the warm mouse made her belly rumble but she couldn't eat yet, there was still work to be done. She gave Palepaw a quick going over. _He's gained a bit of weight back, all thanks to Mintyheart, but he's still thin and he's not improving much. _"Has he been awake much? Talking with you?"  
"Nothing much. Just when I wake him to eat. He seems tired a lot so I don't push him to stay awake.. Is he getting much better?" Mintyheart's blue eyes reflected worry.  
"I'll have Peppernose come by when he gets back to take a look at him better. But he's gained some weight back thanks to you." Echopaw's golden eyes gleamed.  
"I hope so. I feel so helpless to help him...I miss training with him." Mintyheart coughed, trying to conceal his own pain when looking at his apprentice. "Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help."  
"Stay healthy." Echopaw advised. "He needs all the prey he can get and you are already doing so much for him."  
Mintyheart nodded and Echopaw left the log and headed towards the nursery. Snatching the last bundle she popped inside.

"ECHOPAW!" Three kits came tumbling towards the apprentice, followed more slowly by Maggotkit, Hazekit looked up, but didn't leave his nest.

"Good, Echopaw, I'm glad you're here. I've been having this pain in my side...do you think I'm pregnant again?" Maplefur asked, 100% serious.

"Umm...well, I can look at that after I give Maggotkit his herbs." Echopaw stuttered.

"He's fine. Now come here. It's right here on my side. Right here." Maplefur began licking her side.

"In a moment." Echopaw was a bit more firm. "Now. Maggotkit, can you eat these for me?"  
"But they taste gross..." Maggotkit whined.  
"I know little one, but this will make you better and you don't have to take them much longer. Just eat them quick and it will be all over." Echopaw's mew was warm, like her mother's, and the kit began licking up the dried leaves.  
"Thank you Maggotkit." Echopaw purred, "Now you can go play with your littermates."  
Maggotkit padded off, not too excited about the idea of playing with is rolling around littermates.

"Hello Echopaw." Skypool's mew was filled with warmth towards her daughter. "You do a wonderful job Echopaw. Peppernose must be proud."  
"Ha, this is Peppernose we're talking about." Echopaw laughed. "How are you feeling? Are the kits doing well?"  
"Yes they are all doing great. Here, "Skypool stood so that Echopaw could get a better look at the kits. "Now you can get closer."  
Echopaw leaned forward and sniffed each kit. "Hello Whitekit." She whispered. As she gave the little white tom a sniff she heard her sister's voice whisper to her, "Wisdom will follow him." Echopaw looked at the little tom, eyes still closed and purred. She then sniffed the white and ginger kit, "Frozenkit, hello."  
"This kit and his eldest sister are one in the same." Foxpaw murmured to her sister. "Although one with a littermate and the other with another."

Echopaw paused as she heard her sister's words. _What do you mean? One in the same in what? _But her sister was silent. _Guess we'll just have to wait and see. _"Hello Frostkit." Echopaw greeted the tiny little kit. Finally she bent down and sniffed the last, and smallest of the kits, "Snowkit." She whispered. The kit mewed at the touch of the larger cat and Echopaw purred and the feistiness of the little runt. _Let me guess, she's a fighter. _Echopaw mewed silently to her sister.  
"She will have to be if she is to survive." Foxpaw's mew has more solemn than Echopaw had thought it would be.  
"How is Snowkit doing?" Skypool's voice cut into Echopaw's thoughts.  
"She seems fine. Has she been eating well?"  
"Yes. She fights her way to my belly already." Skypool purred. "Yesterday I caught her biting Frostkit's tail as she tried to get milk."  
Echopaw purred to herself, _Foxpaw was right. _"I'm sure Peppernose will drop by later to check on them too. Just keep a special eye on her. Because she's small she may be more likely to get sick, and with it being Leafbare and all."  
"Okay." Skypool nodded as she lay back down at her kits side. They all started blindly mewing and squirming their way to her belly. "I swear these kits always want to eat. You and Foxpaw weren't this bad." She purred, licking Whitekit between the ears. "Now don't be a stranger." Her mother mewed.  
Echopaw purred and promised she wouldn't as she padded out of the warm nursery.

Echopaw's paws already felt worn out and her belly grumbled. She started heading towards the freshkill pile when she saw Shimmerpaw pacing back and forth, her eyes showing confusion.  
"Hey Shimmerpaw." Echopaw greeted at she bounded over to her old denmate. "What's wrong?"  
"It's nothing." Shimmerpaw lied.  
"Don't try to lie to me. You know I can see though that."

"Okay...well Winterstorm told me to stay here real quick while he goes and asks Blazingstar about something and then we'd go hunting. But as I was sitting here waiting, Sunstone came up and told me that one of the elders were complaining about a thorn in their nest and told me to go fix that...but I can't do that because..."  
Echopaw looked at the worried apprentice, _She's got a lot on her paws. She is so close to being a warrior and I know her assessment a few days back didn't go well...she's got to be overwhelmed... _"I can do that for you." Echopaw offered.  
"No, I can't ask you to do that. Besides you're a medicine cat apprentice." Shimmerpaw shook her head.  
"You didn't ask, I offered. And did becoming a medicine cat's apprentice somehow make me lose my ability to find thorns in a nest?" Echopaw's mew was lighthearted but serious at the same time.  
Shimmerpaw looked up at the spotted she-cat, who flicked her tail back and forth playfully. "Okay fine." She gave in. "Thanks so much."  
"It's no problem at all." Echopaw's belly tightened and growled. She hadn't eaten at all today... "Tell you what." Echopaw continued. "I'll do the elder's nests but in return you better find me a nice peice of prey. Okay? We can share it when you get back."  
"That's a deal." Shimmerpaw exclaimed. She missed spending time with her friend and she quickly bounded towards the entrance to the camp. Moments later, Winterstorm appeared and the two raced off into the forest.

Echopaw watched them go and sighing padded towards the elders den. As she approached she could hear that both elders were now awake and going on about something.  
"Hello?" Echopaw called as she entered  
"I made sure Elderleaf at his herbs Echopaw." Heavystep meowed proudly.  
"Oh, good." Echopaw's whiskers twitched.

"They most certainly were not good!" Elderleaf complained. "My joints are so stiff! Hear that? One just popped. Did you hear that!"  
"I did." Echopaw mewed calmly. "That's what the herbs are for Elderleaf. They should bring some relief to your joints."  
"Humph. Well they don't feel better now!" The old tom spat.  
"You just ate them." Heavystep meowed. "Give the poor herbs time to reach your paws."  
Echopaw nodded her thanks to Heavystep. He was the more understanding of the two and Echopaw attributed that to his age. He wasn't really old enough to be an elder but he had retired early after his mate had died in a battle with Shadeclan and he had been greatly injured. Plus his weight gain during that time made a warrior's life hard for him. At least this is what Echopaw had been told about the tom. "So who has a thorn in their nest?" Echopaw asked cheerfully.

"ME!" Elderleaf exclaimed. "It was stabbing me all night!"  
"Okay. I'll get rid of that for you." Echopaw padded closer.  
"You're not going to give me herbs to get rid of it are you?" Elderleaf's eyes burned with hatred of herbs.  
"Ha, no." Echopaw purred.  
"Then what good are you?! You're a medicine cat apprentice."  
"Does that mean I have lost all ability of my paws?" Echopaw growled in annoyance. "I can find the thorn just as well as any other apprentice."  
"Humph. We'll see." Elderleaf's mew was pessimistic.  
Getting to work quickly Echopaw shifted through the elder's bedding looking for the thorn. She had noticed that Elderleaf's pelt was sticking up in a little patch on one of her flanks and assuming that's where the thorn had been, she began looking in the matching place in the nest. Within a few moments she had found the thorn. Carefully picking up the thorn in between her teeth, she padded to the edge of the den and spit it into the barrier wall.  
"There. Is there anything else you need?" She offered kindly.

"Wow" Exclaimed Heavystep. "You found it already!?"  
"Humph." Elderleaf sounded skeptical. "Let me see." He slowly rose and plopped down in his nest, wiggling his body back and forth, searching for any sign of the thorn. "Nope. It's gone" His mew was kinder now.  
"Not bad for a medicine cat apprentice, huh?" Echopaw purred playfully.  
"Good work." Elderleaf's whiskers twitched. "You'll have to show that Thistlepaw how it's done. It took him forever yesterday and he still never found it."  
Echopaw nodded and turned to leave. "Would you like me to fetch you some prey?"  
"That'd be great." Heaystep replied. "I'll take a mouse or so if there are any."  
Echopaw reached the pile and looked down at it. There was a mouse, a vole, and a rabbit. Not bad given the amount of warriors there were and that it was leafbare, but still not enough. She picked up the mouse and vole and headed back towards the elders. "Here." She set the prey down softly at their paws.  
"Thanks." Heavystep mewed. "She got you a vole Elderleaf."  
Elderleaf sniffed the vole, and finding it acceptable began eating. Echopaw nodded her goodbye to the elders and padded back to the lone rabbit on the pile. Picking it up she headed back to the nursery and set it down inside. "Skypool. Maplefur. Are you hungry?"  
"I'm fine." Skypool purred. "Winterstorm is out hunting right now and I he said he'd be stopping by to bring me something and see the kits."  
"I'll take it." Maplefur mewed quickly. "Toms!" She called toward her kits. Over here. There's rabbit."  
The three came bounding up and began gnawing on the rabbit quite messily.  
"I want some too." Preciouskit explamed and bounced over.  
"No, you can still have milk sweetie."  
"I don't want it. I want rabbit!"  
"It is good for them to start eating meat." Echopaw advised. "All of them..."  
Maplefur glared up at the apprentice but didn't stop her daughter from attacking the rabbit. "You never checked my belly." Maplefur growled.  
"You're right." Echopaw sighed to herself. She placed her paws on her belly and sniffed it. _Nothing. Figures. _"I can't feel anything" Echopaw meowed calmly.  
"Well there is something there! I think I'm pregnant again. Besides, you're just an apprentice, how could you know anything. I definitely feel three she-kits in there..." Maplefur gave her belly a lick.

Echopaw couldn't help but think there was no way for Maplefur to be pregnant. She never left Preciouskit's side and when she did, which was rarely, the kits were with Mintyheart...so...Echopaw shook her head clearing it. "I'll have Peppernose take a look at it when he gets back." She meowed. "I'm sure he'll be soooo excited." She muttered under her breath.  
"What?" Maplefur snapped.  
"Umm, I said I'm sure he'll be back soon."  
"Oh okay. Send him over as soon as he gets back!" The queen demanded.  
Echopaw flicked her tail in reply and left.

There was no sign of Shimmerpaw so Echopaw slowly made her way back to her den. It was almost sunhigh and her belly ached. Looking around she noticed that they were a little low on moss-balls so she left camp and gathered a few bundles. Once back in her den she began dividing the moss up into smaller balls and tucked them neatly in the herb store. She was just finishing the last one when the dried ferns around her rattled and Shimmerpaw emerdged with a squirrel in her jaws.  
"Are you hungary?"  
"Staving." Echopaw explained and the two she-cats headed into the clearing. They crouched down and shared the prey and began chatting, just like old times when they were both warrior apprentices. They laughed and purred about old times and realized they were being a bit loud but no one in the clearing seemed to mind. Time passed and the two she-cats gossiped for sometime and they didn't notice Peppernose return, or approach them.  
"What are you doing!?" He spat through a mouth full of bark and twigs.  
"Umm...sharing a squirrel with Shimmerpaw..."  
"In my den. Now."  
He turned and padded off not looking back to see if she was following him.  
"Well I guess I better go." Echopaw rose. "It was nice chatting with you."  
Echopaw padded towards the den. As she entered, she found Peppernose, hissing at her already. "What were you doing all day! Just sitting around stuffing your face!"  
"What!? I cleaned the herb storage! I ran all..." She began.

"You did what!?" He hissed looking towards the herb storage.  
"What's wrong?" Echopaw asked, confused.

"You messed up the herb storage!"  
"What? I organized it!" She spat.  
"Nothing is in its place!"  
"Yes it is. It's just been so long that you don't know what it looks like organized!"  
"Now I've got to fix all your messes!" He spat. "You're an awful apprentice. Just sitting around stuffing your face, being a burden to your clan!"  
"I was working all day!" She was losing her temper. "YOU were the one out of camp all day!"  
"I was collecting herbs!"  
"ALL DAY!?" She spat.  
"Yes! It's leafbare! Herbs are harder to find." His voice was full of mocking.  
"I'm not dumb! I know that!" She hissed. Her eyes burning.

"You sure act like it! No wonder Sunstone pawned you off on me!"  
"She didn't pawn me off on you! I choose to be here! She wants me to be her apprentice!"  
"Well she can have you! You're useless to me and your clan! All you do is sit around and gossip with Shimmerpaw!"  
"I haven't sat down and talked with her in a MOON!" Echopaw cried out.

"Well you'll have plenty of time for chatting now! It's obvious that you're not cut out to be a medicine cat!" The black tom spat at her.

"I don't understand!" Echopaw cried out again. "I do everything you ask. I study hard and am progressing."  
"Not well enough." Peppernose muttered.  
Echopaw was becoming furious again. "I put up with you and all the demeaning things you say to me. I understand that you don't want me as your apprentice but I didn't want this at first either! You're an awful mentor! You are blinded by your own bitterness and can't see anything but it! I worked hard all day while you were out of camp! I worked hard without being told! While you, MY MENTOR, snuck out of camp, without your apprentice, who you are supposed to be TRAINING and was gone HALF THE DAY! Don't yell at me about being an awful experience when you yourself are a foxdung of a mentor! You don't want me as your apprentice? FINE! I don't want you as my mentor! Sunstone was annoying but at least she saw what I can, and WILL become! She may push me but she can see beyond to what she can make me. You just watch where I end up. You'll be the one who's sorry then! My progress will add to your bitterness and you'll be alone. Starclan give strength to whoever has to be your apprentice! I have no idea why I put up with you this long! No other cat would! I will become the best warrior this clan has ever seen, just to spite you!" Her tail lashed and her blood boiled as she ranked her mentor with her words. "I hate you Peppernose!" Turning she pelted out of the den and into the forest within seconds, leaving Peppernose speechless and growling.

Time passed and Echopaw had not returned. Peppernose had already sorted and put away the herbs he had collected. He then started his rounds but, to his anger found that Echopaw had already been there earlier and dropped of each cats herbs. The only thing he encountered was Maplefur ranting about being pregnant again, which he proceeded to ignore. As time passed and night began to fall Peppernose sat waiting at the entrance of his den for Echopaw to come back. He knew she was upset but she'd come back. The camp fell quiet as the moon began to rise and the cats of Forestclan retired to their nests. Peppernose still sat, unmoving, reflecting on the young cat's words. The moon was high above and still Echopaw was not back. Peppernose flicked his tail in annoyance and found himself occasionally worrying about the spotted she-cat. Whenever the thought reached his mind he brushed it off, but as the hours ticked by they started coming with more and more frequency.

Echopaw flew through the forest, not stopping till she reached the far boarder. Finally she haulted. He chest rose and fell vigorously. She slowed to a jog and continued all throughout the clan's territory. Her mind was racing and her paws moved automatically. _I'm not going back. Never. I hate him. I hate him SOOO much. _Once she felt Foxpaw's pelt brush hers, but she bolted away. She wanted nothing to do with the life of a medicine cat! As the moon rose she sat near the roots of a old birch tree. For some reason it calmed her and her mind wandered to happier things. She sat there unmoving for hours till the crack of a stick drew her back out of her thoughts.  
"Who is it?" She meowed harshly. "Peppernose?" There was no response. "Go away!" She hissed, assuming it was her mentor. She turned her back to where the noise had been, sending him a clear signal that she was not willing to talk yet. "I said GO AWAY!"  
Silence.  
Looking over her shoulder into the darkness she spotted a pair of green eyes staring back at her... "Foxpa..?"  
Before the word left her mouth a huge fox lept out and landed on her. Panic flashed in her eyes and being pinned down she lashed at the fox as much as she could. Her claws made contact with the fox's face a few time, which kept it's jaws at bay but she could tell she was losing. The fox was crushing her lungs with his heavy paws and as she ranked it's belly she felt it's jaws clasp on her back leg. Yowling in pain she clawed at him harder but the pain from her leg was overwhelming and she could feel her body going into shock. _Starclan, please help me..._


End file.
